


Celestial Embers

by TheTinyFoxtail



Series: Flames & Keys [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universes, Angst, Bombs, Christmas, Cooking Class, Cute, Dating Advice, Drabble Collection, Drinking, Exhaustion, F/M, False Definitions, First Kiss, Flirting, Fluff, Friendship, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Hypnotism, Jealousy, Kissing, Loss, Motion Sickness, Nalu - Freeform, Notes, One-Shot Collection, Overprotective, Perfume, Piggyback Rides, Presents, Protectiveness, Romance, Running, Smells, Window, ghost story, hair styles, keys, nursing back to health, warmth, weightlifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-22 05:57:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 59,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3717715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTinyFoxtail/pseuds/TheTinyFoxtail
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snippets from the life, love and thoughts of our favorite Fairy Tail duo: Natsu and Lucy!</p><p>#25 - Full Speed Ahead - Lucy's too tired to walk, Happy's trying his best, and Natsu still has the same inhuman endurance he always does. Though now he has a power-up. "Lucy-boost... go!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cover Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Just a little collection of one-shots or long drabbles about our little favorite fire dragon and key holder!  
> I hope they're entertaining and I hope you enjoy! :D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She was Sorcerer's Weekly's centerfold, and just the thought of other men looking at her, so scantily clad, made his blood boil.

Natsu frowned down at Sorcerer's Weekly, flipping the pages aimlessly as if he wasn't looking for anything in particular, or bothered by anything in particular, however he always ended up on the same page.

Lucy had lost a bet to Mira and had taken her place as the magazine's centerfold. Not only that, but it also featured a five page spread of her, posing half-naked in bathing suits and nightgowns. That, along with Lucy answering some very personal questions the reporters had asked. And as if that wasn't enough, at the end there was a small form that men who bought the magazine could fill out to win a date with Fairy Tail's one and only Lucy, Celestial Wizard extraordinaire.

When Lucy had told Natsu about her lost bet, he and Happy had guffawed endlessly. It was absolutely hilarious. Lucy would have to pose in the magazine she read so often, but had vowed she would never star in. Was she modest? Maybe. Natsu didn't know. But what he did know was that it was absolutely hysterical that she was going to be flaunted in front of the entire wizarding community, and undoubtedly she'd be embarrassed for years.

That's how it had been, until he'd actually seen it. Lucy had gone home early the day before, vowing not to show her face until the hype over the magazine had died down, but in the pictures she looked… far more confident. She didn't look like the blushing bumbling mess he expected. She looked like a pro.

And for some reason that rubbed him the wrong way.

Not that she could pull off a photoshoot just as professionally as Mira, but that anyone who looked at the magazine who didn't know Lucy, wouldn't have a second thought about her. They would drool and point and share with their friends the beautiful blonde woman on the pages. They wouldn't say "oh she's so embarrassed; that's so cute", they'd talk about how sexy she was.

And even the thought made Natsu's stomach churn.

That was _his_ partner they'd be ogling over.

Lucy. Luce. His best friend and the one person he felt closest with. It was… gross. Horrible. No one should see her like that except him.

The thought sounded a little possessive but it was exactly how he felt. He'd seen her in skimpy clothing and hadn't given it a second thought in the past. She'd had to flaunt her beauty for jobs and quests; it was normal. But those things had only been in front of a few people. Not the entire city, or possibly even region. Would people on the other side of Fiore see his partner baring all? It was absolutely repulsive.

He grew nearly angry at the thought, snarling to himself before taking the wad of pages Lucy starred in and ripping them from the binding. It was disgusting. No one would see her like that if he could help it. He'd go across the region, taking the magazine out of people's hands, raiding book stores and kiosks, anywhere he could get a hand on that damned magazine he would, and he'd rip out Lucy's bit.

No one was going to see her like that, especially someone who wasn't him. Or even someone else in the guild for that matter. And no one, no one was going out on a date with her. She'd get some pervy guy, no doubt. There was no way Natsu could allow something like that to happen to her. It was just nauseating.

He stood up from his barstool with an angry huff, smacking the magazine closed. He crumpled Lucy's pages in his hand before tossing them into the air and blowing out a needlessly large fireball to disintegrate them. No one seemed to pay any attention; blowing fire for no reason was a norm for Natsu.

No one except Mira, that is. "My, my, looks like someone's not happy about Lucy's article," she giggled, leaning onto the bar. She winked. "Could someone be perhaps… jealous?"

His lip curled. "How can you do such revealing things in a magazine all the time," he growled.

She shrugged, placing her chin in her hands. "You get used to it. Lucy was nervous beyond belief."

"Well, she didn't look it," he snapped. His eyes scanning the guild to see if he could find another magazine to incinerate.

Mira poked him in the chest and he turned his attention back to the barmaid. "I think it's cute you don't want other people to see her like that. She might actually thank you if you went on a rampage and burned them all." She giggled again.

As much as he wanted to deny her words, he knew she knew exactly what he was thinking. She had some otherworldly sense when it came to… partners. Or something of the like. Natsu still didn't quite understand it.

"It's just gross," he spat. "Luce isn't like that. That isn't her in that magazine."

Mira raised an eyebrow before shoving herself off of the counter. "Well, you'd be the one to know," she grinned, a twinkle in her eye telling Natsu she was holding back something else she wanted to say. Undoubtedly about that 'jealousy' remark from before.

He stood, waiting for her to poke fun or scold him, but instead she shrugged.

"What're you waiting for? I'm not going to stop you from scouring the city for those magazines. In fact, I think it's sort of romantic," she smiled.

He was surprised, but he didn't have to be told twice, instead taking off into a run toward the guild doors, vowing to himself that not a single page of that damned magazine would live to see the light of another day.


	2. Brick by Brick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy is forced to go to an extreme measure to keep Natsu out. "Oy Luce! Someone totally bricked over your window!"

There had been days when she'd threatened him when he'd burst through her window unannounced. She said she wouldn't go on jobs with him, she said she wouldn't feed him anymore, she said he couldn't sleep in her bed, but they both knew they were empty threats. She'd never actually go through with any of them.

Because even if he was incredibly annoying at times, scared the living hell out of her when she'd get out of the shower to see him lounging comfortably in her kitchen, and didn't know the meaning of the term personal space, she still loved him to death. So those threats meant nothing.

That was, until today. Technically yesterday, when she'd come home to find him sprawled on his back, sharing her novel with Happy as they both read in silence. She'd screamed a blood-curdling screech and promptly threw them both out. She had seemingly inhuman strength when she was angry and so picking up even Natsu by the back of his vest and tossing him through the threshold was feasible.

He'd teased her about reading her novel before. She'd rolled her eyes because she knew he'd never do it, but apparently, she'd misjudged him. Not only that, but the novel he happened to be reading wasn't her main focus, it was the side story she'd been working on that had characters whose personalities were suspiciously close to her and Natsu's. And those characters may or may not have been in love with each other.

She had to draw the line.

If Lucy had been told she'd be going to the hardware store at two in the morning to buy bricks, she'd have scoffed. But two trips and five bags of seemingly two-ton bricks later she was sitting in front of her window with determination and a spade in her hand.

Was she going a little far, barring her window shut with bricks? Maybe. But she'd be damned if he'd read that novel, even after she'd made it glaringly clear that she wanted _no one_ to even lay eyes on it. He needed to learn a lesson. When training a small animal you had to establish boundaries. And while Natsu was more of a large animal, she figured it would have the same effect.

Two hours later she wiped the sweat from her face and marveled at her work. It looked messy, but it would do its job. She could take down the bricks once he'd learned his lesson.

Thoughts and dreams of having a completely peaceful apartment filled her head as she happily cleaned up, exhausted from her work. Yes, everything would be nice and quiet. She'd be alone, and it would be heaven.

What she _hadn't_ expected was a deafeningly loud thud in the morning followed by a howl of pain that rivaled even the volume of a train whistle. She jolted up in bed, her eyes whipping around in panic. What had that been?

"Dammit! What the hell is this?!"

Oh. He'd found her little overnight project. She'd put the bricks on the inside window ledge in hopes they'd be easier to take off that way. He'd probably seen the glass and thought it was normal. He'd been wrong.

There was pounding on the bricks. "O-Oy, Luce! Someone totally bricked over your window! What bastards!" She could nearly picture him scowling at the red stone.

Lucy sighed, pressing her fingers to her temples. He didn't even realize she'd done it on purpose. What kind of person would sneak into another person's apartment and brick it up from the inside-out? He was either very dense or too trusting in her. Which was sweet, and yeah she felt just a little guilty, but it was for his own good in the end.

"Luce!" he called again. "You want me to try and burn through or do ya want me to go find a hammer?"

Oh boy. "Neither," she answered, slipping out of bed and padding over to the window. She couldn't see him and he couldn't see her but she figured maybe they would be able to hear each other easier.

"W-what? You wanna break it down then while I go find the culprit?"

She sighed. "No Natsu, I don't. You already found her."

"What?"

"I'm the culprit," she groaned. "I put the bricks there last night." There was a long pause and she pictured the gears turning in his head.

"What?" Or maybe not.

"I'm tired of you breaking into my apartment! It was fine at first but you crossed the line and you know it!"

"You mean when I came in and read your book?" he asked.

"Yes!" she yelled back. "I'd told you not to ever look at it!"

"There's nothin' to be ashamed of Luce! It's really good! I like that Gregor guy! He seems like a badass!"

She flinched as she felt her face begin to heat. Gregor had been the character based off of Natsu. Of course he'd think he was awesome. At least he hadn't made the connection… yet. Although, she couldn't deny that having him compliment her story was fueling at least half of the blush.

"It doesn't matter Natsu!" she called, trying to keep her voice steady. "You need to learn to use the front door like a normal human being! I'm tired of having you climb in in the middle of the night, unannounced."

There was another pause before she nearly felt the pieces click into place in his head. "Oooh! Is that all you want, Luce? You just want me to use the front door instead of the window?" Sort of. She figured it was at least the first step, that way she could lock him out if she really didn't want intruders. "I can do that!"

There was a thud and a whoosh and then everything was quiet. Lucy's eyes flicked to her front door and she waited. She waited for those glorious knocks…

_BOOM!_

She screeched in surprise as suddenly her door flew from its hinges, bursting at the seams and clonking with a thud onto her living room floor, revealing a grinning and very proud Natsu. "If that's all ya wanted you could'a told me sooner!"

And as her head nearly exploded with anger she yelled, lunging at him as he turned to run, asking what he'd done wrong, she realized it was possibly a step in the right direction… and that once he'd replaced her door she'd have to teach him how to knock.


	3. Avoidance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Did he just seriously jump out of a moving train to avoid her question? Yes, yes he did.

It seemed Natsu was always gone at the most inopportune of times. Well, inopportune as in times when she knew he was trying to avoid answering a question.

Most people when avoiding a question, would avert the topic. They'd answer a question with another question. They'd pretend they couldn't hear. However, Natsu Dragneel had a much more… obvious… way of avoiding.

All of a sudden he wouldn't show up at the guild if she'd heard some odd rumor about him and was curious for the truth. She'd ask him about something he obviously didn't want to answer during dinner and he'd stare, before literally running out of her apartment. He'd run straight out, without a word, and wouldn't come back.

He was like a child in some respects, she guessed. It sort of reminded her of when children played "hide and go seek" and would cover their own faces, thinking that if they couldn't see you, you couldn't see them either.

He'd run, thinking if somehow he moved fast enough, she'd wonder where he'd gone. Had he disappeared into thin air? Had it all been an illusional spell?

However, she wasn't an idiot -or at least she hoped she wasn't- and so usually she'd stare after him, unamused, wondering why on earthland he wouldn't just say he didn't want to talk about whatever she'd brought up.

And so when the day came that she heard a rumor that he was buying her something for her birthday, she was hesitant as to how to bring it up. She disliked her birthday, mainly because of bad memories that went along with it from her childhood, and so she'd made it clear that she didn't want gifts from anyone at the guild. They could congratulate her, they could make her a cake, but they couldn't get her gifts. She wouldn't have it.

And so she wanted to ask him, and have him stay and answer. She knew he'd run off like someone being chased by a hornet if she brought it up in any normal place… so she had to get creative.

Picking a job so far out of the way they had to go by train? It wasn't unusual, he didn't suspect anything. However, he was a little depressed. She felt bad in a way; trapping him a train while he had motion sickness just to ask a question seemed a little harsh, and a little bit like she was kicking him while he was down. But still… it had to be done.

Not only did she want to set it straight with him that she didn't want a gift, even if it was from him, but she was… also kind of curious as to what it was. She hadn't seen or heard of him giving gifts to anyone else before and so she was interested to see what Natsu Dragneel considered a gift to be.

And so her plan was a go. They were on the train, he was down and out as usual, and she was sneakily planning her wording.

Maybe she should be nonchalant….

"So, I heard from Mira that you're getting me a birthday present this year?" she asked, looking down the aisle as if she wasn't really interested in her own question. Surely he wouldn't think twice about it and just nod, or shake his head, or something to let her know.

Well… she'd been wrong.

He froze as still as a statue, shooting up on the bench to sit so straight it looked like he was in a strict prep school. His eyes were as wide as the moon and he stared in bewilderment at her, not saying a word.

"Woah there," she said with a chuckle. "I was just curious." Curious to find out what it was… and then to snap at him that she'd told him a million times over not to buy her anything… and also to find out what it was. Wait, had she already said that?

He still didn't say a word, his saucer-sized eyes shifting one way and then the other, quickly flicking around as if searching for his escape route. He briefly looked to Happy for help but the blue cat whistled innocently, scooting farther away on his seat to avoid the situation. She was glad she picked a moving venue for when she asked him. He couldn't escape.

When he apparently realized he wasn't getting out of this question so easily, he looked back to her, his eyes still freakishly wide and staring at her with the intensity of a puppy caught in the act of chewing the couch.

_'C'mon, just spill,'_ she thought. It wasn't _that_ big of a deal. He was probably getting her some jewelry or something and while no, she knew he didn't enjoy being scolded by her, he wasn't so against it that he'd look _this_ scared… was he?

His "deer-in-the-headlights" look went full-blast as he seemingly was internally running over his options and realizing they were slim to none. The more he thought, the more she swore she could see his head expand and his eyes bulge.

He wasn't going to seriously like… hurt himself was he?

She stared back at him, more and more worried yet curious by the second as he began to waver back and forth as if he were about to pass out.

And then he apparently had an answer.

She jumped a mile as he finally moved, whirling around and promptly throwing open the train window.

Her mouth dropped open and she held a hand out to stop him but before she knew it… he'd gone and grabbed his backpack and jumped out the window. _He jumped out the window_. Of a moving train… _just_ to avoid answering a question he didn't like.

She scrambled to the window, sticking her head out, the wind whipping at her hair as she spotted a pink dot slowly getting smaller behind them. "SERIOUSLY?!" she yelled, hoping he heard. He was insane. Definitely. Although she couldn't help the smile threatening to overtake her face.

But if he was willing to jump out of a train for it… Seriously… what had he gotten her?


	4. A Key from the Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His actions were heartfelt, and incredibly meaningful, coming from the person who knew her best.

She knew he could sense her underlying sadness regarding Aquarius. Natsu may have been a little dense, or a little oblivious regarding some things, but she knew he could sense this.

Maybe the others in the guild had moved on and possibly forgotten, but he hadn't. She would plaster on a smile for the days succeeding Aquarius' departure, and after a while, the smile wasn't so fake. Time healed all wounds after all, even gaping emotional ones that she was sure would take a long while to mend.

However, whenever her spirits were mentioned, she couldn't help the pang in her heart. A twinge so strong she felt the need to grasp at her chest. As if she might find a thorn stuck deep in her heart that she could pull out, and the pain would go away. There was no such luck.

Aquarius had been her longest and only friend growing up. Friend… she guessed maybe she was stretching the word. Aquarius hated her, most likely, but she had loved the spirit.

The water bearer had been less than pleased to find out that Lucy was her new master, after Layla had died. Lucy was grieving the loss of her mother, and somewhere deep she figured Aquarius was grieving Layla's death as well, although she hid it well if so.

Aquarius had glowered down at Lucy as she cried, scoffing and muttering to herself that she would've rathered having her key thrown into some random body of water, leaving it up to fate as to who would find it and who would be her new master, than to have been left with a sniveling girl.

Their relationship hadn't really improved in the years to follow. Lucy loved the spirt with all her heart, especially since she'd been tied to her mother, but Aquarius stayed as short and irritated as ever. Lucy learned to deal with it, all the way up until the end.

Breaking that key had felt as if she was not only breaking her ties with her first friend, no matter how much that friend seemed to dislike her, but also as if she was breaking the last living tie to her mother. She was losing both of the women she'd held dearest growing up, all in one single blow.

However, she figured she was gaining much more. Maybe she lost two female figures but she gained her guild. She could save her guild by letting Aquarius go, and she'd do anything to keep her newfound family.

It'd been an open wound for a long time. She would cry when she was alone, clutching the broken key tight and wishing with all her heart that it was just a dream. That magically the key would mend itself and her first dear friend would come back to her. It was silly to wish things such as those.

But after a while her tears ceased, and she was able to move on, hoping that up in the Spirit World Aquarius was happy, going on dates with her boyfriend that she loved so, and glad she no longer had to make the seemingly irritating trips to Earthland.

Lucy hoped that, she hoped her spirit was happy, and yet at the same time the thought that Aquarius didn't feel anything at all, and was so much happier without Lucy than with… was heartbreaking.

However, she'd gotten over it, at least on the surface.

And so the day when Natsu showed up at her door, his hands behind his back and a grin on his face, it'd been a surprise.

He'd yelled out a 'ta da!' and Happy had thrown a small pawful of confetti into the air. Her partner had then revealed what he was hiding, holding out a small trinket on a string.

She squinted, and for a second, she had no idea what it was. There was a moment of silence as Natsu grinned and she stared before it hit her. Maybe it looked a little deformed, and maybe it wasn't exactly gold, rather a really rusty orange, but it was a replica of Aquarius' key.

Her eyes had fluttered wide as she took it, looking up to Natsu with confusion.

_"I know how much ya miss her, so I thought maybe if you had a necklace with a key like hers that wasn't broken, it might make ya feel better! Y'know, a little thing to remember her by since you can't carry her key with ya anymore!"_

Indeed she'd stopped carrying Aquarius' key. Mainly because she didn't want to lose it, but also because it brought back painful memories when she'd go to grab her water bearer's key, ready to summon her into battle, only to find it broken and dangling shorter than the others on her ring.

She could tell Natsu had tried to weld together some scraps of metal. Honestly it looked pretty good considering, although maybe a little misshapen. Her fingers wrapped around the key, holding it to her heart as she felt the beginnings of tears prick to her eyes, staring up at him.

Everyone else had moved on, and even she'd moved on on the outside, but he'd known. Him, her partner, her other half, had known somewhere deep down even if she didn't show it, that she still missed her first friend desperately, and that it hurt every moment wondering where Aquarius was.

It was moments like those, as she jolted forward and crushed him in a hug, his embarrassed chuckle sounding in her ear as he tried to brush it off as no big deal, that meant the most. Because in the end he was truly something special, and someone that no matter what, she couldn't afford to lose.


	5. Waking the Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was definitely faking being asleep, and she'd say anything to be able to catch him in the act.

He was inhumanly fast. Well, when it came to something he wanted, anyway. If he was told to go on an uneventful job he was as sluggish as a sloth and yet if there was food involved? He was a blur.

Another one of those things he liked was sleeping in her bed. She'd duck into the kitchen to grab a glass of water before going to bed and when she'd turn back around, there he was… sleeping and snoring peacefully.

She'd tried to catch him in the act. Pretending to walk off to then quickly turn around. He was still too fast for her. He wasn't even inside of her apartment and yet when she'd peek back over her shoulder, bam, there he was in the bed, snoozing away.

It was insane.

However, after nights of this she began to think that possibly he wasn't as inhuman as she believed. Maybe he was a blur of pink, but that didn't mean he could fall asleep that quickly.

Sometimes when she'd stand over her bed, scowling down at him sprawled across the entire thing, she'd catch his lip twitch toward and smile or his eye move underneath the lid. He wasn't asleep. He was faking it like a toddler.

She'd tried many ways to catch him in the act. She'd whacked him over the head with a pillow, to which he'd either "snored" louder –which she was positive was fake- or woke up groggily whining at her and asking what she was doing. He was a surprisingly good actor.

She'd pretended to leave the apartment to see if he'd follow but he didn't. Whether he knew what she was doing –trying to prove he wasn't truly asleep- or not, she didn't know.

Still… he was a pain at times and she wanted to catch him in the act. She wanted to prove he was only fake-sleeping. That way he would be forced to be considerate and move over to his side of the bed. Sleeping on the edge was seriously not good for her back. More room to sleep in her own bed. Was that really too much to ask?

She only had one other idea: to try and entice him to wake up. How? She wasn't sure, but she'd give it a try.

As if on cue as she pulled on her pajamas in the bathroom, when she exited he'd seemingly appeared out of thin air to lazily saw z's on her bed. This was it.

She crept over to him, kneeling down beside the bed and leaning so her mouth was close to his ear.

"Hey Natsu," she cooed. "Happy's tail got shut in the guild door. He's tailless now." Nothing. It'd been a test of sorts. Natsu probably knew that that hadn't happened.

She chewed her cheek. "Gray's out on an S Class mission. Master says if he makes it back he can be an S Class Wizard." She waited for a reaction. His snore hitched but then continued. She couldn't tell if he'd done that because of what she'd said or just naturally.

She was positive he was still awake and faking it. Just positive.

"I'm dressed like a clown, face painted and everything," she said. His eyeball rolled and his eyelid fluttered but he didn't respond. She couldn't help but smirk. There was no way he would've done that in his sleep. She was enticing him.

"I baked a cake for Erza's birthday yesterday, but I have a little extra. You want it?" His snores halted for a second again, this time his nose twitching a few times, sniffing, before he began snoring again.

He was freaking smelling for the cake. This stupid pyro took her for a fool! Lucy Hearfilia would not be duped! She would catch him in his act once and for all.

She knew even if she did catch him he wouldn't stop infiltrating her room and her bed, but still… it was a pride issue now. She had to prove that she wasn't as easily fooled as he thought.

"I'm taking off the clown costume now," she said. She was lying the entire time, even about the cake, but for this she would go however far needed. "I'm completely naked except for my bra that has little dragons on it." She doubted the promise of her naked would phase him.

He continued snoring, however she watched as his eyes rolled once again, and for a minute she was afraid he'd look. Not that she actually was naked, but still. "Don't peek!" she hissed, covering herself as if she really was bare. Wait… she wanted him to peek… that was counterproductive. Still… something about the thought of him looking over at a taunt like that felt weird.

"Igneel burned down the guild."

Nothing.

"Gajeel grew an extra leg."

He didn't budge.

"Laxus slipped on a banana peel and someone caught it on Lacrima."

Not an inch.

"Your house flooded."

He didn't seem phased.

She huffed, looking around her apartment.

"I'll let you read my novel."

His hand twitched and his snores caught but he didn't give up the fight.

She was about out of ideas. "I'm getting married tomorrow."

She almost fell over in surprise as the eye closest to her snapped open, Natsu staring at her with the intensity of a tiger stalking its prey. "What? Who?" he snapped, sounding incredibly irritated.

So that's what it'd taken? The promise of a marriage proposal? As much as she was surprised, she realized that she had indeed won, instead letting out an, "I knew it!" and promptly shoving him to the far side of the bed and into the wall. He let out an 'oof'. "Stay on your side!" She flopped into bed next to him. "I know you're faking it so seriously stay on your side. I need some sleep."

She sighed in contentment, closing her eyes. A peaceful night's sleep at last. He hadn't even gone to protest that he truly was asleep. Victory was sweet. There were a few blissful minutes of silence before she felt a hand on her shoulder, shaking her gently.

"But seriously… who're you marrying?" he growled.


	6. Warning: Planes Are Not Natsu-Friendly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perhaps he should've told her about his motion sickness sooner...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Modern! AU)

She loved him. She really did. She also had to keep reminding herself of that fact as he gagged and his lunch threatened to land on her lap. He wavered and she watched with wide eyes.

Oh boy here it came- no he was able to hold it back again.

Whose idea was it to take him on an airplane? Hers… although she was regretting it now. She'd always thought it strange that he never rode in cars, nor owned one, and refused to take any form of transportation. She figured maybe he was being kind to the environment.

Turns out he just turned green when he rode on or in something, and sometimes even when watching someone else ride those things. The day he tossed his cookies while watching the children at the zoo ride a mini train should've probably been her first clue… He undoubtedly had the worst case of motion sickness she'd ever seen.

Had it been pride that had held him back from letting her know? Maybe. She betted he wished he'd swallowed that pride back when she suggested taking a plane to go and meet her parents, because if he had he wouldn't be swallowing his meal for the second time.

Gross.

But she loved him, and even if he ruined her new pants with his vomit, she was sure she could deal with it. Because it was him. At least that's what she kept chanting over and over in her head.

He'd been fine for the first few minutes, surprisingly enough. He'd looked maybe a little stressed or uncomfortable, but the minute they'd hit even the slightest amount of turbulence he was green as a pickle.

"N-Natsu," she said, her hands hovering over him, unsure of how to help. "Why didn't you tell me? We could've gone on a road trip to my parents' place instead."

That apparently hadn't been the right thing to say as he gagged again, shaking his head vigorously. Oh, that's right… motion sickness entailed cars too.

"U-Um we could've… walked?" It was nearly impossible. Her childhood home was far too far away to walk. Although he seemed on board, sending her a weak thumbs up as a sign that that'd be his vote for coming home. She sighed. "What can I do to help?"

"Hrng," he heaved, making a drinking sign that she took to mean as taking a pill.

"I'm not sure if that'd work now that you're already sick… plus I don't have any."

He keeled over in disappointment, groaning. Lucy could feel the stares of the surrounding passengers, undoubtedly hoping that he'd somehow be able to overcome his nausea so that their flights wouldn't get any more… uncomfortable than they already were.

"Would trying to eat something bland help?" He slapped a hand over his mouth to keep it in and she took that as a no. "Would you like to talk and get your mind off of it?"

He nodded slightly, as if skeptical if it would work.

"Um, well, I know you're going to like my dad. He's a little stern and you two are… nothing alike really, but I have a feeling you'll hit it off. Although, he's still not keen on me dating someone so poor. His words, not mine, I swear."

Natsu hunched over, his face holding nothing but pure despair. Oh… maybe that hadn't been the right topic. Natsu had been stressed about meeting her father since she'd brought it up months ago. Although his sickness seemed better, instead replaced by an incredibly dreary sense of depression.

She laughed awkwardly, trying to brush it off. "Maybe you'd be better if you could somehow fall asleep?"

He looked doubtful but nodded as best he could. He sat back, taking deep breaths as he tried to get comfortable. He slid down in his seat… not comfortable. He leaned against the window… not comfortable. She watched worriedly as he tried position after position without avail.

"Here," she mumbled after a while of watching him perform the most awkward-looking yoga of her life as he tried to find a good position, pulling him towards her before all the way down so his head rested on her lap. She shifted, petting his hair calmingly and smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt collar.

Surprisingly, Natsu smiled in contentment, settling in deeper and letting out a satisfied sigh. He still looked a little pale but a lot better. "Mm, better than any medicine," he mumbled nearly incoherently before apparently dozing off, light snores beginning to puff out of his nose.

She flushed in embarrassment, but with a smile, continuing to brush hair out of his face. Only interrupted by some light "awws" and "thank gods" from around the cabin as the passengers who were heatedly waiting to see if their fellow cabinmate would toss his cookies watched the scene play out.

Lucy swore she'd never had a more heated blush in her life. Although, she was just glad he felt better. And that her new pants remained untouched… but mostly that he felt better.


	7. Love Is Blind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bruise on Lucy's face from the job they'd just returned from looked absolutely horrific. Not that Natsu minded. "I think she looks just a pretty as usual."

"Just promise you won't laugh."

"Is it really that bad?" Gray leaned towards Erza, whispering in her direction. On the last job the team had taken Lucy had received quite a beating and ended up with what Happy had described as 'one giant bruise that pretty much took up her entire face'. Gray figured he had been exaggerating… surely.

Erza shrugged lightly. "We won't make fun, Lucy. Don't worry." Lucy had cooped herself up in her apartment since the job and refused to come out for the past day because she'd been so embarrassed by the bruise. And so naturally, her team had become worried… or rather curious, and had infiltrated her apartment to basically have a small standoff with her until she had to come out and show her face for one reason or another. Gray really didn't see the big deal. A bruise was a bruise. It'd go away.

At least that's what he'd thought until Lucy peeked around the corner of her bedroom door and he nearly spit out the water he'd been idly sipping for the past hour while they tried to convince her to come out. One hell of a bruise was an understatement. Nearly one half of her face was a deep purple-ish black in color, her bright eye standing out like a spotlight in the dark, even with her eyelid slightly drooping. Holy crap, maybe it wouldn't go away. What had happened to cause that bruise? They'd said she'd been battling someone with a weird magic but damn… a bruise like that didn't just _happen_ in a battle. Gray flinched. It looked painful.

Lucy didn't miss the flinch and she made a move to duck back into her room, but was stopped by Happy, who flew behind her to then forcefully shove Lucy out into the living room.

Gray hazarded a glance over at Erza who looked just about as shocked as he felt. "I-It-It doesn't l-look that bad," Erza said stiffly, not fooling anyone.

"Oh come on guys," Lucy whined, looking completely defeated. "What am I going to do? There's no way in any world I'm going to show my face like this. How long do you think it'll take for it to go away~?" She brought a hand up to her face and winced in pain when she touched her darkened cheek.

Gray was positive that that was probably the largest and probably the most painful bruise he'd ever seen. "I think it makes ya look badass," he said. It wasn't a lie. She sort of did look like some battle-worn soldier with that whopper covering her skin. He gave her a nod. "Don't worry about it. If anyone says anything about it you can just hit 'em or something. Put them in their place." He took another sip.

Erza nodded in agreement and Happy snickered as he floated towards the kitchen table. Lucy shot the cat a glare before in a blur, snatching her bag off the floor and chucking it across the room, straight into Happy's stomach. The Exceed let out a wheezing 'oof' as he went hurtling towards the couch.

"Yeah, like that," Gray smirked.

Lucy took a deep breath and hesitantly nodded. "I guess… or I could wait a week or so…." Her eyes slowly swept to her right where Natsu sat perched on a chair. He'd been so quiet throughout this entire ordeal of trying to convince Lucy to come out that Gray had nearly forgotten he was there. Wow, he never thought he'd say that in his lifetime.

Lucy laughed awkwardly, pointing at her face. "So? Too horrible?" she asked Natsu, looking a little afraid to hear the answer.

He tilted his head to the side, crossing his arms and slowly clambering off of his chair. He stood straight, stalking forward until he was mere inches from Lucy before taking in a deep breath. She backed away, giving him a look. "Dude, don't sniff her, ya creep," Gray droned. He'd really gotten tired of the way Natsu just sniffed people like it was something normal.

Natsu shot him a glare over his shoulder before turning around and shrugging. "She smells the same. I don't know what you guys're talking about. It's just a little bruise." He looked back towards Lucy and his regular goofy smile stretched across his face. "I think she looks just as pretty as usual."

For the second time Gray nearly spit out his drink. Natsu had to be kidding right? Just a _little bruise_? Maybe if a giant was considered 'little' it would be. Was he blind? Or was he trying to just make her feel better? By the stupid oblivious grin on his face Gray knew Natsu had been serious.

Lucy's face turned a bright red as she stuttered out a thanks. Natsu shrugged, looking as if he wasn't sure why she was so embarrassed. Mavis, that flame brain was in his own little world. Gray took another sip and shook his head. His own little world for this, and his own little world regarding Lucy. Gray had even recognized the crush Natsu had long had on Lucy and yet the flaming bastard hadn't recognized it himself. He rolled his eyes at the thought. Well, that would explain not seeing the bruise as anything significant then, he guessed. They did say love was blind, after all.


	8. A Burning Feat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsu is certain he can impress Lucy with an amazing feat of control. Although, things never seem to go as planned.

It was no secret that Natsu could sometimes go out of control with his magic. No secret was a bit of an understatement. The entire continent knew of his destructive tendencies on jobs, granted with that winning smile of his, no one seemed _too_ awfully upset about any of it. Anyone but Lucy, and Makarov that is, whether because of rent money going towards repairs, or another visit to the council to explain Natsu's actions.

But it was also no secret that Natsu had incredible control over his flames if he put his mind to it. And that control was getting better and better as he trained day after day, for hours on the days his team didn't go on jobs.

And so the day when Natsu burst into the guild, strutting like a proud peacock, Lucy was hesitant. He'd promptly walked over to her, slammed both hands down on the table, and pronounced that he was going to attempt a feat that would show that he had the utmost control over his magic. He'd grinned afterwards, waiting for her to 'ooh' and 'aah' and excitedly ask what he was going to do.

Instead she became wary.

"And what might this, 'feat' be, Natsu?" she deadpanned, her eyes flicking from side to side as other members of the guild began to gather, curious as to what Natsu was going to do this time. Yes, if there was one thing he could do, it was lure in a crowd.

Natsu's grin didn't falter. Instead, he puffed out his chest. "I bet'cha I can surround you entirely with my flames, and you won't get burnt at all!" He looked to her with excitement again, and once again wasn't met with the reaction she was sure he'd imagined.

"I don't know…," she trailed off, shrinking under the pressure of now many pairs of eyes from surrounding guild members, all of which were now whispering to themselves, undoubtedly making bets on whether or not Natsu could actually do it. It wasn't that Lucy doubted him. In fact, she believed he probably _could_ engulf her in flames and she would come out unscathed, but she wasn't sure what she thought of being the center of attention yet again for one of his stunts.

"Aw, c'mon Luce!" he said, throwing a fist into the air. "I thought you'd be excited! What with you always lecturin' me about controlling my flames, and "burning your rent money away" and blah blah blah, y'know!" That grin just wasn't going anywhere.

"Yeah, but… couldn't you just do it to someone else? Or better yet show me how much control you have on the next job, yeah?" She nodded enthusiastically. That way he'd get to show her _and_ there would be less of a chance of having to pay out their earnings towards repairs.

Natsu slouched. "C'mon, Luce, don't ya trust me?"

Once again it really wasn't an issue of trust, but as the crowd of guild members began to become rowdy, the chanting of 'yeah don't you trust him?' and 'c'mon we want to see' began to become louder and louder, she figured it'd be best just to get it over with. She could argue with him all day and she usually won, but when Elfman was in the background, telling her to be a man, and Mira prodding her in the back with her elbow, she knew _they_ wouldn't stop until they saw a show. After all, when Natsu burst into the room like that, it sort of gave a precursor for a pretty exciting time.

"Fine, fine," she grumbled, sliding off of her bench and walking to stand a few feet away from Natsu and any of the tables that he might catch on fire in the process. The Fairy Tail members all bustled around to get a good view. "Okay, show me Natsu," she said, sounding a little less enthusiastic than she'd wanted. She just wanted this over and done with so everything would calm back down.

"Alright!" Natsu clenched his hands into fists, his eyes wild with excitement. "You ready?" She gave him a nod. He cupped his hands to his mouth before rearing backwards. "Roar of the Fire Dragon!" he bellowed, and as the searing flames made their way from his hands in a pillar of light, she began to regret her decision.

Holy crap this was actual fire she was dealing with here. A Dragon Slayer's fire no less. Yes, she trusted Natsu, but with that powerful of an attack could he really- She'd closed her eyes and held her arms up to her face to shield herself… but as she stood there, feeling slight warmth, she realized she hadn't been burned. Lucy hazarded a look through her eyelashes and saw that his attack was over. She'd made it.

She sighed in relief before dropping her arms to her sides. The relief was short-lived, however. Something didn't feel right… plus everyone was staring at her funny. And in a moment of pure horror and shock, she slowly looked down to see that nearly every shred of clothing had been promptly singed from her body in the process of Natsu showing her this "feat".

"KYAAA!" she screamed, trying her best to cover herself. "Natsu what the hell!?" she screeched, trying to find a place to run, but the crowd had packed in tight. Her face was heating quickly. She wouldn't have been surprised if her entire body had been beet red from a blush of embarrassment.

"Aha, whoops," he smiled, scratching the back of his head. "I hadn't accounted for clothes… but still, Luce look how controlled I was!"

She couldn't believe he was still focusing on how close he'd gotten to her without actually burning. And he hadn't made any move to either wipe the grin off his face, or take his eyes off of her… in fact they were slowly wandering. Hell, that idiot didn't have a single ounce of remorse on his face. In fact, it looked as if he were a little past amused on this one. Even Happy didn't look as stupidly entertained as Natsu did.

That was, until the shocked-silent guild members snapped from their stupor, a chorus of whistles and 'Lookin' good Lucy!' echoed out from the crowd. Then, it seemed his fun was over, his grin turning quickly upside down as his eyes narrowed and he glared at each and every whooping man, grumbling to himself as he reached behind and grabbed the tablecloth off of the nearest table, throwing it over to her. She quickly wrapped herself in it, mentally crawling into some small hole to die as she made sure she was entirely covered.

Natsu continued to frown, looking surprisingly volatile as he crossed his arms and spat angry words that neither she nor the guild members could hear. Why he was so upset, she had no idea. But whatever it was, it served him right. That, and he _definitely_ owed her a new pair of clothes… and her dignity.


	9. "The Top Five Reasons Why Lucy Heartfilia Should Totally Date Me"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because apparently Lucy needed an extra push to accept his offer.

When Lucy awoke in the morning, or rather decided to get out of bed as she hadn't slept a wink the night before, the absolute last thing she expected to see was a tiny folded pink piece of paper sitting a few inches from her door.

She stared at it, her head feeling foggy from the lack of sleep, but her heart still pounding nonetheless. Stupid Natsu. He was the reason. And there wasn't a single doubt in her mind that that piece of paper was from him, either.

It wasn't a surprise exactly, that Natsu finally got up the gumption to ask her out. She wasn't as dense as he was, and she knew he liked her. She knew, and yes, she reciprocated those feelings to a point, but when he'd actually come up to her the past night, just outside her apartment door and officially asked her out on a date… she'd panicked.

She buried her now burning face in her hands. She'd been so stupid. When he'd asked her, her jaw had nearly hit the floor, and everything seemed to come to a halt. No, it wasn't a surprise. So why on earthland had it felt like she'd been hit in the face with the news? She'd had no idea what to say to him, her mind going completely blank, and in that moment her body apparently took over and ended the awkward moment for her… by promptly fleeing into her apartment and shutting the door in his face.

She hadn't meant to be rude. In fact, she hadn't meant to run away from the situation at all, but she'd panicked… she guessed. He hadn't knocked on the door and asked her what was wrong. She'd seen the shadow of his feet underneath the door for a while… but after a few minutes he'd left. She'd been worried she hurt his feelings, and that's when the endless swirl of thoughts began.

The thoughts that'd kept her up all night.

What was her problem? She liked him… she knew he liked her… yes it was a little crazy that Natsu actually had the guts to ask her out, but then again it wasn't crazy at all. He was pretty confident… she just guessed she'd just never seen him as the one to ask out a girl.

Then why hadn't she said yes…? Well, after hours upon hours of staring at the ceiling from underneath the covers, she thought she had finally come up with the answer: she was afraid it would ruin their friendship.

It was a pretty common issue amongst dating friends. If things didn't work out, the friendship was usually rocky… and then before either of them realized it, it would be over. Natsu was her best friend… she didn't want to lose that. But then again she didn't want to lose the opportunity of giving their relationship a chance and possibly finding the love of her life. She _had_ been in love with him for an awfully long time, after all.

She grunted in frustration, shoving off of the bed and padding over to the note by the door. Her heart was still a mess, half flustered by the excitement of the possibility of Natsu Dragneel becoming her "boyfriend", and half because she was nervous as to what he was thinking now. She'd slammed her freaking door in his face as an answer. He'd probably taken it as a 'no'. And it was in fact _not_ a no. Not a yes, but sure as hell not a no.

She bent over and picked up the scrap of paper, unfolding it quickly. She had no idea what the note would say… would it be a note saying to forget what he'd asked her? Was it a note with a place and time to meet? Or was it a note saying he'd gone out on a job because they both probably needed some time to think after her prompt and rather rude reaction. Oh Mavis, she hoped it wasn't the last. She didn't know whether to accept or not, but she sure didn't want him going off somewhere where she couldn't tell him her answer when she _did_ figure it out.

But instead, when she had it unfolded and flat, a completely different sight hit her. Lucy's eyes widened.

__

_The Top Five Reasons Why Lucy Heartfilia Should Totally Date Me_  
_By: Natsu Dragneel_

_1\. You're like… real pretty, Luce. I think you're pretty much the best girl out there. And while I dunno if I'm the best guy, I'm sort of attractive, right?_

__

_2\. We're already partners. I mean like we already have chemistry. We go on jobs all the time and we work together real well and that's what makes relationships work._

_3\. Happy likes you. He's not hard to please but getting him to approve of you as dating material is seriously something. And he did approve, by the way. He's probably like a relationship guru or something and he knows we'd go good together._

_4\. I know you inside and out, and you know me that way too. We've known each other for what… years? I dunno it feels like forever but also kinda like we only met yesterday or something. But I know all of your flaws and your strengths and what makes you laugh and what makes you cry and stuff. I sorta feel like you know that about me too and I also sorta feel like we're so close we're kinda the same person in some respects… Happy told me that sounded weird. Did that sound weird? If it did just ignore that._

_5\. You're my best friend, Luce. We've been together through good and bad and I want to go through as many more good and bad times as we have left. I couldn't imagine life without you, and even if I could I wouldn't want to live in a future like that. Because I really do love ya, Luce. I've been absolutely positive of that for a long while now._

_So like…. Yeah… those are just the top reasons because there's probably like five billion reasons you should date me. But I don't have enough paper for that. For this I had to borrow some of Mira's and it's all pink and smells a little like perfume. I tried to get it to smell normal but seriously that stuff was stuck on there. Anyway, I know I kinda scared ya off last night… but when you've thought about it and taken into consideration my seriously genius reasons… I'll be in the guild. Just come get me._

_I really do think you're the best._

_~Natsu_

_(P.S. At a close number six is that I already sleep in your bed like all the time anyway. This way it would be more "normal" and you wouldn't have to yell and kick me out all the time. I'd also share some covers. I swear.)_

As she finished the letter she felt her lips tugging towards a smile, and the slightest hint of wetness in her eyes. No, it wasn't a love letter like she'd imagined getting as a child, but it was him. Natsu. This silly list truly encompassed what he was, and who she'd fallen in love with.

And he'd had the same idea she had. They were friends. She'd just thought it might ruin things, while he'd made it one of the biggest reasons why they should give their relationship a shot. Yes, maybe she'd been looking at it from the wrong angle. Leave it to that grinning idiot to get her to see things in a better light.

At least now she thought she had her answer, and it made her heart beat even faster as she clutched the piece of paper to her chest, biting her lip to hide her excited smile. She couldn't wait to give him her answer.


	10. Half a Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because when he'd left, he'd taken half of her heart with him. And after one short conversation, it sounded as if he'd also left her half of his own.

It was nearly midnight, her desk lamp creating a small circle of glowing light on her paper, when she felt something warm brush against her calf. She looked up from her novel, readjusting the pen in her hand as she spotted Happy at her feet, looking curious. She blinked, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness of the room as compared to the light on her paper.

"Lucy, what'cha writing?" Happy looked just about as tired as she felt, rubbing a paw at one of his eyes.

"Sorry, did the light wake you?" she asked, briefly glancing over her shoulder to her bed where Natsu was still snoring peacefully. She'd snuck off to write some more of her novel in the middle of the night. It wasn't something she usually did, but she figured it wouldn't wake or bother either of the boys. She guessed she'd been wrong.

Happy shrugged. "It's alright." In a fluid movement he stretched out his wings, easily floating up onto her desk before he let his magic go, and his wings disappeared again. "So what'cha writing?" he repeated. Happy didn't look phased when she quickly moved her arms to cover her work.

"I'm working on my novel, of course," she said, sounding a little more peeved than she'd meant to. It was a spoken and unspoken rule that she didn't want anyone but Levy reading her story. Although, Happy didn't exactly look like he was too interested in reading it at the moment.

Happy reached out a paw to the pile of paper, taking the corner and ruffling a few pages with a claw. "Doesn't look like you've written that much in the past year… it looked just like this the last time I saw it."

Lucy visibly flinched. She used to write on her story daily… in fact it had been hard at times to tear herself away from writing it. She'd racked up hundreds of pages, and the stack that was her budding book had gotten rather impressive but… Happy was right. It hadn't grown much, if at all, in the past year.

"Oh, y'know just a little writer's block." She forced a laugh and Happy's eyebrows pinched. "But these past few days my muse seems to have come running back." Her smile turned genuine. "I guess you guys bring inspiration with you, huh?" she said, chuckling to herself and giving Happy a wink.

She'd had eons of time over the past year he was gone. When Natsu had left, Happy in tow, she'd basically been given an open-ended sentence of alone time. With Fairy Tail gone… she could truly focus on her story. She could get it published. She could make her dream come true. But somehow it seemed the moment he left town, so did all of her motivation regarding her book. She had no inspiration, no gumption. She found herself pondering the very real possibility that her novel would never be finished. She'd had all the time in the world, and yet even writing one sentence seemed to be a struggle.

But here it was, one year later. He'd returned and with him everything she felt she was missing. Regarding her book and otherwise. Ideas suddenly started flowing so fast she found she couldn't keep up with them, hence the midnight writing session.

Happy looked rather downtrodden, his gaze making its way back down to Lucy's hands, covering her handwriting. He sat down carefully on the desk. He was a cat, a cat that sometimes drove her crazy, but sometimes she didn't give him credit for all he'd pick up on. Including this. "Did you miss us, Lucy?" he asked.

She snorted. "Of course I missed you guys. I missed you guys a lot." They were her partners. Natsu her best friend. It was only natural to miss them… especially when he'd left behind only a small slip of paper telling her he was leaving. She'd gone through a period of darkness after that, she wouldn't lie, and it still stung to think about, but it was over now… they were back and that was all that mattered.

It seemed her eyes were giving away far more than she'd wanted. Happy let out a sigh. "We missed you too, Lucy."

A smile tugged at her lips and she reached over to pat him on the head. "That's good to hear." Her eyes flickered over to the still-snoring lump in her bed and once again Happy seemed to read her mind.

"He really did miss you, Lucy." She couldn't help the catch in her throat as she quickly looked back to the Exceed. She knew Natsu had missed her, she knew it deep down, but still… something about hearing it made her heart jump to her throat. Maybe some part of her was worried he hadn't. He'd left so easily, after all. "Natsu was always talking about you." Happy offered her a smile.

"He was?" She'd meant for her voice to be near a whisper, but it'd come out much louder than hoped. Natsu's snores hitched for a moment and Lucy's eyes widened, but the buzz saw-like sound started right back up as Happy nodded.

"'Course he was. When we were traveling he'd always be like, _"Oh wow, Luce would love this!"_ or _"I wonder if she's trainin' like we are right now Happy"_ and stuff." He shrugged. "It was an entire year, y'know. We've all three been together so much that at first he had a real hard time with it. He kept calling out behind himself for ya to look at something, or asking you about something he was curious about… just from habit. When he realized you weren't there he got kinda embarrassed… but honestly for a few minutes afterwards when that would happen he'd get real quiet. He really did miss having you with us." Happy's eyes searched her face, and she wasn't entirely sure what he would find.

She was a little shocked, more than a little touched, and entirely unsure of how to process the information. No, it didn't sound like a big deal. They had been partners for seemingly as long as she could remember. But still… to hear that he'd do such little things, things that showed he was thinking about her even when they were apart felt like the biggest things in the world. Because she'd done the exact same things after he'd left. Her heart felt heavy, clenching painfully in her chest.

Happy watched her face carefully, noticing as she brought a hand to her heart. He smiled. "I know when we came back he sorta acted like nothing had changed… which might've seemed like he didn't care that you were apart for a year but… it did affect him." Happy looked to the side awkwardly. Lucy could tell that talking so seriously with her was a little uncomfortable for the normally cheery cat. "And I know leaving a note was kinda… just…," he frowned, trying to find the right word.

"Painful," she finished for him, her voice catching.

Happy slouched, seemingly guilty at how much emotion that word had held in her voice. "Yeah, it was probably kinda… painful for you… It was just that Natsu really needed that time. And I agree he probably could've warned you or gone about it a different way, but at the time… he thought it was the best option." Happy slouched further, his whiskers wilting slightly. "And I know he hasn't talked with you about it yet either, but he does regret not telling you we were leaving in person. There were lots of night when he'd talk in his sleep about it, and wake up in a panic, sweating… He just said they were nightmares, but from what I heard him saying… He said your name a lot anyway, and "sorry" and "note" and stuff so I kinda put two and two together after a while."

Lucy bit her tongue, her heart aching so badly it felt as if it could fall out of her chest. She'd vowed to herself she would put the past behind her, but with Happy talking like this, bringing up things she'd worried about, and wondered if had even crossed Natsu's mind, something felt just all too real about it. That while she was alone in her apartment, holding that note close and running her thumb across her guild mark as tears ran down her cheeks, he was missing her, too. She hadn't been the only one. She'd wondered if Natsu had even thought about anything but training in that year, and worried that he hadn't. But with this… he had. And it wasn't just about the guild, he'd missed her like she'd missed him too.

As she bit her tongue harder, trying to force back the tears she felt brimming in her eyes, Happy dared a glance up at her, his eyes wide and filled with guilt. It wasn't his fault, but it was apparent he felt he could've done something to make it a little less painful of a break.

"He hasn't talked with you about it, and I don't know if he ever will… so I just felt you should know," Happy said quietly. "Although, some of it really sank in for him when he saw the map of all our guild members on your wall. So I haven't lost faith that after all this… after this war is over that he'll say something… Y'know, try to repair whatever he's broken. Because he really does feel bad, and he really did miss you. _We_ missed you."

Lucy wasn't sure what to say, and even if she had been, she was positive she wouldn't have been able to get the words out. It felt like all the repairs she'd done herself, trying to heal after he left came crumbling down, her resolve with them as she reached forward, pulling Happy to her chest and into a hug as a small and weak sob escaped her lips, along with hot tears that began to run down her cheeks.

It just all seemed so surreal. Her life at Fairy Tail was so carefree but with him leaving, Fairy Tail disbanding, the year alone, and now a war that had an impending sense of doom coming along with it, it felt like things wouldn't turn out alright. That people were drifting farther apart and things weren't going how they should be. But with this… this small amount of information that told her she wasn't alone, it felt a little less grim. Yes, he'd left, but he'd thought about her as much as she'd thought about him. He actually _cared_ enough to think about her, which would've seemed so obvious in the past, but with him leaving without a trace, something so uncharacteristic of him, she'd begun to wonder if he'd completely forgotten about her.

And he also felt guilty about it. She wasn't sure why that made her feel so relieved, and she felt a little bad for thinking so, but it did. He was so carefree and headstrong, just like always, but to hear from Happy, his closest ally, that there were moments of seriousness, moments when Natsu, the one she was sure she could never tame, took a step back and let a deep emotion such as guilt, or regret pull at him… Something made her feel so relieved that it made the tears roll even more quickly.

Because this little bit of information gave her hope, and an odd sense of closure. It gave her a reason to believe that maybe he wouldn't leave again.

She took a deep, hitching breath. "Thank you," she whispered into Happy's fur. She felt his nod and the small squeeze from his paws as he tried his best to hug her back. She really underestimated this cat sometimes… "Thank you."


	11. Personal Radiator

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was the reason she was forced to sit on a log in the middle of nowhere, freezing to death. If he weren't so sweet she really would've put him in his place.

She liked going on jobs with Natsu. They were partners after all, and so even if jobs taken with him sometimes had… drawbacks, she still wouldn't exchange them for anything. Drawbacks such as reduced rent money. That was her main complaint, although nothing a few extra missions couldn't fix.

However, other drawbacks included his willingness to run after the enemy, even when it wasn't the best idea… such as with this job. He'd seen their target in the distance, and as the man ran over the hill, Natsu had promptly grabbed her by the wrist and quite literally dragged her after him. Even as she realized that between them and the man was a small, thin stream hidden by tall grass, Natsu didn't let go. Which meant he'd of course fallen into it… and she'd been yanked in after him with a yell and a splash.

She had to admit she was steaming after that. She hadn't packed a change of clothes since the job was only supposed to take a few hours, but as the sun set and the temperature dropped, it was obvious they'd have to camp out before beginning again the next morning. Which meant all she had were the soaking clothes on her back. And as another shiver wriggled down her spine, she was positive the entire forest around them could feel the annoyance emanating off of her.

Lucy wasn't entirely sure how many social cues Natsu picked up on, but he was being awfully quiet so she guessed he'd at least picked up on the fact that she didn't exactly feel like talking at the moment. They'd made a small fire in a clearing and Natsu had built a makeshift clothesline a few feet above the flames so they could dry their clothes a little quicker.

Lucy muttered angry words to herself as she peeled off the fabric before draping her garments across the line. He'd really done it now. Rent money was one thing, but forcing her to spend time half naked and freezing in a forest at night when goodness knew what was out there, was another. She felt like eyes were constantly on her and could practically feel the tiny legs of bugs tickling at her skin.

She shivered again, plopping down on a log near the fire. She held out her hands, trying to soak up as much warmth as she could. Natsu had already laid out his clothes as well and was halfheartedly poking at the fire with a stick. Most likely his version of pouting. Although, whether it was over the fact that she was more than a little irked at him, or that they had let their suspect get away, she wasn't sure.

Happy had been flying when she and Natsu had had their small scuba diving experience, so that stupid cat had gotten off easy. She found herself glaring at him with jealousy. He obviously picked up on her vibe as he snickered to himself, dramatically sitting down near the fire and brushing out his fur as if to say "wow, I'm so nice and warm and _dry_ ". She kicked a pebble at him and frowned when it missed. Stupid cat.

She'd stripped down about as much as she could without revealing too much. However, her undergarments were going to be wet for hours. It'd probably take the entire night, if not longer, for them to be acceptable. Her clothes would probably be dry in a while though… but she'd just get them all wet again if she put them on before her underclothes were dry.

This sucked. And she swore the temperature was dropping by the second. Either that or the wind had picked up just to spite her. Stupid Natsu. He never waited for anything. Did he even say, _"Hey Luce, let's go after him?"_ No. He'd just grabbed her and gone. And with an iron grip like he had she hadn't had any chance of an escape. She'd thought that after this long he would've learned at least a _little_ about taking a breath and _thinking_ before charging into situations. She'd call him out on this one. Whether it was now, or in the morning, or when they got back to the guild, she'd really tear him a new one and then maybe he'd learn-

She froze as a newfound warmth radiated onto her. She slowly and stiffly looked over her shoulder to find Natsu standing behind her, a rather worried look on his face. He always cranked out body heat, but this was definitely on another level. This extreme warmth had to have been on purpose. His knees were nearly touching her back and she could tell he was leaning over her slightly as if to make a cup of heat around her. Her shivers ceased as a carefree grin broke out onto his face.

"Thought you might be cold. Wouldn't want'cha freezin' out here now would we?" In Natsu speak, that was his weird and small way of… not quite apologizing, but about as close as he got to it.

And as she looked up at the innocent face that belonged to her partner, she felt her anger and annoyance melting away, no matter how much she wanted it to stay. She really did want to chew him out once. Maybe put some sense into him… but that smile…

She sighed in defeat, turning back to face the fire as her lips reluctantly twitched upward. He was sweet at all the right times. That was Natsu for you. "Thanks," she muttered, torn between scooting closer to his heat and scooting away, afraid that he'd see the color on her face. She was a little embarrassed by how worked up she'd gotten. It was only wet clothes.

However, the nice moment was brought to an abrupt halt as she heard Happy snicker. "They liiiiike each other."


	12. A Ghost Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was constantly scaring her, but she never seemed to be able to scare him. And although she doubted telling him a ghost story would work, she was willing to try.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally written in honor of Halloween. So just a silly little scary-themed one. ;3

It wasn't very shocking that Natsu seemed to never get scared. He was strong-willed and up for anything and so it really wasn't a surprise. However, it was frustrating. Why? Because it seemed he scared her every single day.

At first it was on accident. He'd show up on her bed or rummaging around in her fridge when she'd walk out from taking her bath and she'd nearly jump out of her skin, screaming and throwing whatever was nearest to her, at him.

Then it was on jobs too. He'd disappear, saying he was going east, and she should go west, and before she knew it she'd hear a rustling in the brush and he'd pop out, asking her why she hadn't gone where he'd told her to. She _had_ gone west, however inevitably they'd have gotten themselves lost and began going in circles, so they'd met back up with one another.

It was mundane little things like that at first, and while yes, they were sort of annoying and she was getting a little tired of the near heart attack she'd get, they weren't avoidable.

However, they'd escalated. He apparently thought it was incredibly amusing to sneak up on her in the guild, or outside, or really much of anywhere. He thought it was great to play pranks, put out fake spiders, and tickle her back unexpectedly. She however, thought it was the exact opposite of great. The loud and piercing _"kyaaa!"_ she'd let out every time he surprised her seemed to egg him on, even when she whined at him or even slapped him and demanded he stop. He didn't listen, of course.

And so she just figured she'd get him back. However… that was easier said than done. How was she supposed to go about scaring a fearless Dragon Slayer? She tried everything he did: popping out from behind a wall, putting fake bugs and snakes in his house, she even went as far as to make a fake wound on her arm with "blood" gushing everywhere. Not only had he sniffed out that it was phony, but he'd said getting hurt wasn't something to joke about.

She'd rolled her eyes and pouted for the rest of the day. He'd pretended to have his hand pop off once to scare her… it'd been fake but it'd still scared the living hell out of her. Hypocrite.

And so it was when Happy leaned over and whispered that he might have an idea on how to scare Natsu, that Lucy decided she could stoop so low as to try the cat's idea, which honestly sounded like there wasn't any chance it could work. But hey, she was desperate by now, and she'd do anything to get back at Natsu, even if it was only a little.

She waited until nighttime to try. Natsu of course showed up at her window on cue, throwing it open and walking in like he owned the place.

"Hey, Natsu!" she piped, skipping in, feigning innocence. "Wanna hear a story?"

He seemed taken off guard, plopping down in a chair by the table and resting his feet on its surface. "A story? 'Bout what?"

Lucy shrugged, slowly walking over to a chair across from him. "Oh, I don't know, just like a little ghost story."

Natsu sighed. "Y'know if you're still tryin' to scare me, it ain't gonna work. But if ya still want to, fire away." He faked a yawn.

She narrowed her eyes. He was in for it. Yes, Happy's idea seemed rather far-fetched, but now… she _really_ hoped it'd work. She cleared her throat, carefully sitting down. "Alright. Once up on a time…" Did ghost stories even start with 'once upon a time'? She had no idea. Growing up as a Heartfilia, she'd never been camping and hadn't been introduced to "horror story telling" as it was probably too "unruly" for her father's tastes. She stifled rolling her eyes. "Once upon a time there was a boy who lived in a small town-"

"What was his name?"

She faltered as Natsu interrupted. He'd seemed so unenthused that she hadn't expect him to give any input. But here she was just one sentence in and he had already taken his feet off of the table so he could lean towards her, his eyes wide. He was so easily excitable that even though she could tell he didn't want to get into the story… well, let's just say that anyone telling him about anything seemed to excite him. "D-Does it matter?"

"Yes, o'course it does! If yer gonna tell a story you better get your details straight!" he nodded as if he were an expert storyteller.

Mavis, why was she even doing this? Happy had followed Natsu in and was now laying on the bed, although she swore she could already hear him snoring. This was his idea; he should be helping her, right? Stupid cat. "His name was… Greg." She pulled a name out of thin air.

"Ooh," Natsu nodded. "What's Greg look like?"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Like… I don't know; he looks like you."

Natsu gasped. "Me?! Greg looks like me?!" He whirled around to look behind himself, his eyes narrowing as he turned back around. "Does Greg know what I look like?" His eyes shifted as his voice hushed to a whisper, as if he thought Greg was spying on them at that very moment.

"What? No," Lucy spat. "He's not real. This is a story."

Natsu looked at her skeptically before nodding and leaning back in his chair, arms crossed. "I don't like Greg."

She sighed. "Why? You like yourself. Why wouldn't you like Greg?"

Natsu pursed his lips. "If he's like my doppelgänger or something, that's totally not cool. He's ripping off my character."

Lucy was surprised he knew a word that long, but decided to brush past that point… and the point he'd made. She rested her head on her fist and rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever, you don't have to like Greg. I'm getting back to the story now."

Natsu shrugged. "'Kay, I hope something bad happens to him, though."

"Okay, so there was a boy –Greg- who lived in a small town. It was a town where everyone knew everyone, and secrets weren't ever kept for very long, and rumors spread quickly. One such rumor had spread recently through the town." He was already intrigued, his eyes wide as he waited patiently to hear what came next. She didn't exactly have too much faith in her storytelling skills. Sure, she could write, but telling a story out loud? She'd never done it before.

Happy was still asleep on her bed. She hoped this story did scare Natsu. If so, Happy would totally miss it, and he'd sounded a little curious and excited about the possibility of watching Natsu cower in fear. Lucy cracked a grin.

"One night there was a loud explosion near the south of the city. When the townspeople went to investigate, all they found was a wrecked train, completely empty of cargo or people, still lightly smoldering. This wouldn't have been a surprise, as trains do often derail and crash, however this town was nowhere near any sort of railroad. The nearest tracks had to be miles away. It was a mystery to the people, and so, as with all mysteries, someone came up with their own explanation, which quickly spread as a rumor."

Natsu opened his mouth to say something but she held up a hand to stop him. He closed his mouth, his eyebrows pinching upwards in the middle as if he were a little worried, or perhaps a little offended she'd cut him off.

"The rumor stated that long ago there'd been an abandoned mine near where the train crashed. There had been plans to build a railroad track that led to the mine, to transport the coal more quickly, however the night before they were to begin work on the railroad, the mine collapsed, as if someone had forcefully blown it up, sealing escape. Three men died that night in the mine, the culprit behind the collapse of the mine never caught. And because of this history, an elder in the town had stated that they absolutely knew what had happened: those three men had died in cold blood, and had come back and acted as the engineers of the train that'd crashed, bringing the "ghost train" –as it was becoming called- back to the site of where the railroad was to begin, in search of who killed them."

Natsu didn't look scared, rather curious. So much for this. Happy's idea was totally bombing. But she wouldn't give up on it now. She took a deep breath and continued.

"The boy in this town, as the rumor started to spread-"

"Greg."

"Yes, as the rumor spread, _Greg_ grew curious, and wanted to find out if there happened to be any truth behind it. So one night, he took a flashlight and his backpack to the site of the crash, wanting to search for the collapsed mine. He found the wrecked train, still in the same spot it had been when first discovered, and slowly and meticulously searched around it. Sure enough, in just around a quarter mile of the train was the beginning of a small rocky range, at the front of which were piles and piles of huge boulders, crumbled on top of one another, looking like they were sealing some sort of hole. Greg, eager to then investigate the train, hurried back to the crash site and without hesitation, climbed the few metal steps into the first car."

Natsu looked intrigued still. At least she was holding his attention… here came the part Happy had told her to tell him about.

"Greg shined his flashlight around the car, looking for any abnormalities, but found none. Suddenly, there was a deafening screech and he whirled around to see the metal of the train behind him bending on its own, the stairs he'd just boarded reaching upward and crumpling in on themselves to seal off his exit. There was a jolt, and the train seemingly came to life, the floor chugging underneath him as he could hear the engine puffing to life. There was a loud and booming voice. _"For you condemned us to a slow and painful death, trapped in the mine, we will condemn you the same, oh killer. May you never leave this train for the rest of your breathing minutes."_ And suddenly the train jolted forward, speeding off at an incredible pace. Greg struggled to keep his balance, and only then did he realize that there was something different about this train: there were no windows, no doors, not even an entrance into the engine room or the next car. The only entrance had been the one that sealed off behind him, and with thick metal all around, too thick to break or bend, there was no chance of escape. The train jolted and jostled, moving around much more than any normal train and traveling at a speed that Greg knew to be miles and miles faster than any train of this world. And it was there that Greg was trapped for days upon days, weeks upon weeks, with nothing except the constant banging of the engine and movement of the train-"

Lucy cut off the end of her story, staring wide-eyed at Natsu. She hadn't exactly seen it coming, but suddenly all the blood in his face had drained and she swore he was shaking. He looked beyond terrified, as if he'd quite literally just seen a ghost. She didn't have faith in her story, however suddenly she _did_ have faith in Happy's idea. Happy had said the only thing that scared him was the thought of transportation, and so she'd given him a story where someone was trapped in such a thing, hoping for the best.

And the result was priceless.

Natsu shuddered, his arm shaking as he slowly pointed at her. "B-But he just… Greg just… forever? He was on the moving train fore-" He dry heaved at just the thought. "A t-t-t-t-train like that doesn't exist, right? I mean like w-w-we can't get trapped on a train…right?!" He was breathing heavily and getting more and more pale by the second, forcing out an awkward and panicked laugh.

She sputtered out a giggle. "Oh my god it actually worked!" She keeled over with laughter, which apparently Natsu did not appreciate.

"No b-but seriously trains can't d-do that, right?! It's not funny! That was a horrible story, Luce! I can't believe you trapped Greg in there like that! A train like that… no one deserves that… NOT EVEN GREG!"

Lucy just continued to snicker to herself, trying to permanently brand the image of him sitting there, scared witless, into her mind for the rest of her life.

However, in jobs to come she wouldn't be laughing. Because his aversion to trains was now only heightened because of that story. Yes, she got to scare him –albeit in a very weird way- however he now absolutely abhorred the things, and refused to go on one, for fear it would trap him inside, which in turn, meant she was forced to walk to most jobs now. Nothing came without a price, she guessed.


	13. Fangs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~His teeth were those of a dragon's, and a constant reminder of exactly how powerful he could be.~

Perhaps the thing she found most interesting about him, was his teeth. They'd been one of the first things she'd ever noticed about him, after all.

When he'd first made his appearance, breaking her of the fake Salamander's trance and afterwards approaching him to give him her thanks, it'd been the first of many times that she'd see his incredibly bright smile. A smile that seemed so innocent and sweet that it made all of his other… not-so-great tendencies seem a little more bearable. And a smile that clearly showed two shining, elongated fangs.

It'd taken her a little by surprise, but he'd closed his mouth quickly, instead a new expression of excitement taking hold as she offered to buy him lunch, and she thought that perhaps, she'd just been seeing things. People didn't have fangs, after all.

But sure enough, as he chowed down on the lunch she bought him, as much food flying onto surrounding customers as was making it into his mouth, she saw those teeth again.

Honestly, she wasn't sure what to think. At first she was a little shaken, then skeptical, and finally, she settled on intrigued. They were interesting. She wasn't the type of person to basically just blurt out, _"hey, what's up with your teeth?"_ but she had to admit she was very close to asking him about them on multiple occasions. How on earthland had he gotten them? Maybe he was some weirdo who liked fangs so much he'd filed his own teeth. She'd shivered at the thought. Or maybe he'd just been born that way, and they were much smaller than they actually appeared.

Of course, after fate was set into motion and she came across him again, learned his name, who he was, where he was from, she realized that in fact they were very, very real, and no, they weren't smaller than they appeared. Although whether or not he was born with them, she'd never find out.

He was a dragon slayer. A human who possessed the power of a dragon, and so it was only natural that something resembling the powerful creatures take place on his body. She didn't spot any scales, or wings, or a tail. The only thing that seemed to link him to the creatures he slayed were his wild and sometimes feral-like eyes, and his teeth.

They were the fangs of a fire dragon… it was a little hard to believe, but then again it almost seemed completely natural. There were a lot of things about Natsu that seemed to contradict like that.

She wasn't entirely sure why she was still intrigued by them, months, even years after getting to know him. He was like her other half, she knew him like the back of her hand, and yet those fangs were still fascinating.

He'd grin as he was chatting with Happy on her bed and she'd find herself staring, watching the light glint off the surface of his sharp canines until he waved a hand in her face, asking her what was wrong, and if he had food on his face or something.

Even as their relationship progressed in the years to come, the captivation didn't wane.

The first time they'd kissed, she'd been startled by those fangs, actually. Natsu wasn't the most experienced, or… neat… kisser, in fact it was what many would call 'sloppy' and so she'd gotten a full frontal assault on her mouth from him, and his teeth.

They were long, in fact, much longer than they actually looked and when he bit her lip playfully, he'd always draw blood. He'd apologize, of course, and she'd tell him it was fine, when in fact it just made her curiosity grow further.

Those fangs were sharp. Almost razor-like and just what she'd expect from a dragon. How did he have such teeth? He ate meat, sure, but nothing that would give _those_ teeth a workout. How did he not tear the inside of his own mouth to shreds? Maybe he had as a kid, and had just gotten used to dealing with them.

But whatever the reason, as they grew closer, and as time went on, she still found herself enraptured by them. It sounded a little odd to be absolutely enthralled with his _teeth_ of all things. Usually girls gushed over muscles, or hair, or really much of anything but not… _teeth_.

She'd asked herself many times exactly why they were the most fascinating thing about him, to her. She'd come up with a few answers, none of which felt right, until one day after a particularly grueling job, in which he'd successfully beaten the monster they'd been sent to slay –along with half of the neighboring town, of course.

That monster had looked an awful lot like a dragon, and as she stood aside, watching him unleash his attacks to propel himself to victory, it hit her.

To her, he was Natsu. He was a bit clumsy sometimes when it came to emotional things, he was a goofball through and through, he liked to have fun and train, he'd fight with Gray every chance he got, he'd tease her, he'd go off on adventures without a second thought, instead giving a smile that could melt her heart every time. To her, he was Natsu Dragneel, her partner, her best friend.

But in all reality, he was much more than that. He was the famed Salamander, a boy taught the incredibly rare and devastatingly powerful magic to slay the creatures that once ruled the world. He was taught a magic that made his body like that of a dragon, so he could destroy one. He was wild, part beast, in a way, and viciously strong.

He was the humanized form of a dragon, a creature whose destruction and true power had instilled in her a type of fear more concentrated than any she'd ever felt before.

He was feral, he was untamed, and yet, he was also that innocent smile of a child that he wore on so many occasions.

He was Natsu Dragneel, a man capable of more than she could fathom, and one that could go from silly and caring, to ruthless and ferocious in the blink of an eye.

He was diverse and there was always something more she could learn about him.

After her small revelation she knew why his teeth were the most interesting thing about him. No, not the most interesting… maybe the thing she actually loved most.

Because he was wild, even if she knew him as the boy guffawing at the bar over a stupid joke. And when he'd hold her, as her better half and the one she could entrust her life to, at the same time, the talons of a dragon were intertwining with her fingers.

He was everything to her, in his own way, and when she'd see that jagged, elongated fang stick out of his mouth, she'd smile. Because she loved that side of him just as much as she loved the heartfelt silly one. She loved all of him, inside and out, and those teeth, they were sometimes the only visual reminder she received, that underneath the skin of the man she loved, resided a beast. One that it seemed only she could tame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I always saw Lucy as having to remember that Natsu is really a Dragon Slayer because with his disposition you can sometimes kinda ... forget... or something.  
> Anyway, just another random one. I hope you enjoyed! :D


	14. A New Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Because trusting Natsu with a pair of scissors and her hair had never, ever, been in the plan.~

Lucy sighed, resting her chin on her hand and idly playing with her hair in the mirror. It was so flat, so dull, so lifeless today. She ruffled it in hopes of giving it some body, but it just collapsed back down again. Another sigh.

" _Lucy_ , you've been staring at your hair for like, hours… Can we go yet?" Natsu's boredom was more than evident in his voice. Looking back over her shoulder she spied him, sprawled out on her kitchen table and pouting like a child. He tended to get into weird positions with her furniture while waiting for her. One time she'd found him on his head underneath her desk, practicing his smoke rings, his entire presence reeking of serious boredom.

Fairy Tail was holding a small festival to commemorate the beginning of summer. Why? Maybe because Fairy Tail liked having an excuse for throwing a party. Lucy swore they celebrated _something_ or other nearly every week. So of course, the girls had decided to wear yukatas and pull up their hair into fancy designs. There would be fireworks, food, games, and of course, lots of fun. It was a little bit like the cherry blossom festivals, but maybe a little different. There was always someone in the guild creating a fuss at these things so it was bound to be memorable.

Lucy was positive she was probably the most excited one there. The past cherry blossom festival she'd been sick, and while no, it wasn't time for the rainbow sakura trees to bloom and turn their stunning colors, it was similar, and she was eager to participate.

However, there'd been one unforeseen roadblock: it was Cancer's day off. Her crab spirit hardly _ever_ asked for a day off, and so when he did, she was going to respect it. What was he was doing? She had no idea, but whatever it was, she wasn't going to interrupt it to ask him to do her hair.

She'd thought for sure she could handle it for just one day… but she'd been wrong. Growing up with servants doing everything for her, and then graduating on to Cancer when she grew old enough to begin perfecting her magic, she'd never been taught a few things, including how to do her own hair.

Natsu had watched her for the past two hours as she tried, and failed, at trying to look her best for the festival. Did she have her outfit? Yes. And it looked stunning. Her hair? An absolute mess. She was honestly a little surprised Natsu hadn't given up on her and gone on ahead. Happy had already left, after all, claiming that the "boredom might literally kill him if Lucy's horrible hairstyles didn't first". Lucy frowned at her reflection. Stupid cat.

She'd contemplated wearing her hair down, and perhaps just trimming it a bit, but quickly thought better of the idea. If she couldn't even pull her hair up with a few pins and ties, she sure as hell didn't trust herself with a pair of scissors.

"Maybe you should go on without me," she sighed. "I'm sure I can do something within the next- well, soon… that would look presentable." She wasn't even convincing herself.

She saw Natsu's reflection in the mirror as he rolled off the table, sauntering up behind her. He tilted his head. "You just wanna pull your hair up?"

She nodded. "Or at least cut off the split ends or something, just to make it look… fresh." Men didn't usually enjoy talking about hair, of all things, and so she was surprised when Natsu's face cracked a wide grin behind her.

"Why didn't ya tell me sooner? I can do your hair, Luce!" He nodded enthusiastically.

Who did she trust less than herself when it came to her hair… or really anything involving scissors? Natsu. She shook her head, trying to keep the fright out of her eyes as she pictured him giving her an afro or cutting… or _burning_ it all off on accident. "I-I'm fine, really."

"Naw, c'mon, c'mon, just gimmie the scissors; I can trim it. No prob." He held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror as he puffed out his chest in pride.

"You haven't ever cut hair before, Natsu. No way."

"Pssht, it can't be _that_ hard. If a crab can do it, so can a dragon." His eyes trailed down to her dresser, undoubtedly looking for a pair of scissors.

"Listen, really, you just go ahead; I'll figure something out." Lucy laughed awkwardly.

"Nope, no can do." Natsu huffed, bending down and quickly throwing open all of her dresser drawers as the hunt for a pair of scissors began. "Can't leave ya here, Luce. Plus, I'll totally be a pro at this, you just wait." A tornado suddenly erupted in her room as he began throwing absolutely everything out of her drawers as he searched for the scissors.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lucy screeched, flailing suddenly as all of her belongings seemed to go flying across the room, some bouncing off of her bed, some smacking against walls and others making loud clanking sounds as they landed in the sink. "F-f-fine, NATSU, fine!" His reign of destruction stopped as he grinned at her excitedly.

She couldn't believe she was doing this.

Lucy grumbled to herself as she reached into the bottom drawer, fishing around for a second before pulling out her scissors. Natsu snatched them out of her hands, giving out a cry of victory as he stood up to then dance around her room happily behind her. She unamusedly watched him in the mirror, shoving things back into her drawers and closing them. Two seconds into owning those scissors and he was already running with them. Wasn't that like rule number one learned as a child? She was doomed.

"Okay!" Natsu pumped a fist into the air as Lucy straightened in her chair, throwing her hair behind her and praying that it wouldn't look too bad. Natsu ducked for a minute, before coming back up with a blanket in his hand. Probably one that used to reside happily in one of her drawers. She had such a mess to clean up now. Ugh.

Natsu straightened, trying to put on his best professional face as he whipped the blanket around her, tying it around her neck as if it were a cape in a salon. At least he was taking it sort of seriously… She spotted the beginnings of a smile on his face. Or he was just having fun playing pretend.

Cancer would be back to fix whatever mess Natsu made tomorrow. She could deal with it for one day…

Natsu cleared his throat and opened the scissors… and Lucy closed her eyes.

The next five, maybe ten, maybe twenty, minutes went by at a staggeringly slow pace for Lucy. She had no intention of looking into the mirror; she didn't want to watch the monstrosity unfold. Instead, she sat, wondering what was taking him so long as she felt him comb through her hair with his fingers, slight tugs here and there, and the sickening sound of scissors chomping away.

She chanted over and over again that it was just for one day, hell, just one _night_ and then Cancer would be back. She had to admit it didn't make her feel any better. She was going to look crazy for the festival she'd so looked forward to. Oh boy.

"Alright!" Lucy flinched. "All done here in the back! It looks great if I do say so myself."

She took a deep breath. Here went nothing. Peering through her eyelashes, and trying to prepare herself for the worst, she hazarded a look…. And… She opened her eyes all the way.

…It actually didn't look too bad. In fact… it looked… not bad at all. Lucy's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Natsu, it looks… pretty much the same, but it looks fine!"

Natsu snorted at the surprised tone in her voice. "Of course it does. You said you wanted it trimmed… I mean, I did take off quite a bit but not like… a _lot_."

Lucy had to admit she was beyond impressed. Maybe she owed him some credit. Maybe he was better at some things than she could've ever thought.

"Okay, now just for your bangs… and then I'll be all done!"

Lucy nodded, smiling. Well, it turned out this hadn't been a bust. She'd get her hair all nice and pretty for the festival, after all.

Natsu shimmied around in front of her. She closed her eyes again, this time to shield her eyes from the hair that would inevitably fall as he trimmed her bangs.

_Snip_. Woah, that'd felt like an awful lot of hair falling.

_Snip_. Nah, it'd probably just felt that way.

"All done!"

And Lucy's face went pale, all the blood slowly draining down her neck as Natsu moved to the side and she got her first look in the mirror. She hadn't been just feeling things; he'd chopped off a lot… and in weird places, for her bangs. Actually… it looked like he'd almost cut out triangles… _Actually_ , it looked a lot like… his hair.

Lucy's eyes bugged. Oh sweet Mavis he'd given her his haircut.

She stifled a scream as she quickly reached around to grab the rest of her hair. And sure enough, her fears were confirmed. Looking in the mirror she couldn't see what it'd looked like past her shoulders. She had just assumed it appeared basically the same as before, but she'd been wrong. It was all chopped off just past her shoulders, instead jaggedy chunks cut out here and there all the way down in layers, which were slowly starting to fluff out and stand on end, scarily resembling Natsu's hair which seemingly went in every which way.

No, no this couldn't be happening. It made sense… since he'd probably watched his hair being cut before, and was probably all he knew… but still, this couldn't be happening.

"What do ya think? Pretty cool right? I made it longer so it looks more girly than mine." Natsu nodded to himself as if he'd just created the next great masterpiece to be shown around the world.

This… there was no way this was real. Her eyes widened as her heart plummeted to her stomach. Her hair was an absolute mess! The more it sat, the more it really did look like his hair. The ends were all crazy, none the same length and her bangs, if brushed backwards, she was positive would look just like his.

My god they'd be twins when they went to the festival. She wanted to be close to him, but not this kind of close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An incredibly stupid and silly one... I seem to be saying that about these more and more lately. Hah. Ohwell, I'll embrace it. XD  
> I hope you enjoyed! :D


	15. Under Your Spell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~In which Natsu acquires an item that can supposedly hypnotize people, and Lucy is positive she made the wrong decision in humoring him. "Luce, do you love me?"~

Lucy swore she'd never seen Natsu this excited for anything in his life. And being as Natsu was probably _the_ most excitable person on this half of the planet… that meant something.

She wasn't sure who'd started the rumor that some craftsman in Magnolia had created a new magic item that could hypnotize people, but she was pretty positive it was Gray… or Gajeel… or someone who wanted to make Natsu look like a buffoon.

Magic items were prevalent in the town, mainly because Fairy Tail was what Magnolia was known for, so if anyone came to visit, most likely they were mages, or were interested in becoming wizards. That, or they couldn't use magic, and they wanted a souvenir. So, in turn, there were a lot of knock-offs of magic items that children or tourists bought, simply as a replica and something that said 'hey, I went to Magnolia and saw the Fairy Tail guild'. Sometimes it was still hard to believe she was actually a part of this guild, the one known far and wide as quite possibly the strongest on the continent. Ah, Fairy Tail, it was still so exciting when she thought about officially being a member.

But that being said, no, it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a new magical item to come out. However, for someone like Natsu who didn't bat an eye or pay any attention when they passed a store selling magical trinkets –even when Lucy'd squeal and run to the shop to see if they had any keys- perhaps it sounded like a new magical device was something revolutionary.

So in that case, no, it wasn't a surprise that when someone went and told Natsu that there was a "new magical item that could put people in a trance" and "something that could make someone do anything you wanted" that her partner would go wide-eyed and amazed, and of course, promptly go searching for thus and such an item.

Magics that hypnotized were usually full of loop holes. Completely controlling another human being not only took a _lot_ of magical power, but was also something that really wasn't to be done. It just wasn't right. Many magics could control this, or control that, such as Sherry's magic that could control nearly anything, but they all had a loophole: they couldn't control humans.

Of course, the spell of the Ring that the fake Salamander had worn when Lucy had first traveled to Magnolia was a type of hypnotism, but not complete control. It had a way to break the trance –more than one, actually- and was also a little on the weak side, and could be withstood by someone of strong will. Not that she didn't have a strong will… it was just… she was off her game that day. Yeah, that sounded right.

So no, she didn't believe that this "magical item for hypnotizing people" existed, and was nearly certain that it was just a silly little prank pulled on Natsu. Which was probably going to be funny, but also a little sad. She'd snicker when someone would fool him, but in a way she felt a little bad for him and a little disappointed that some would pull his leg again and again just for laughs. Because he was the most trusting person she knew, and if one of his guild members, the people he considered family, told him something was real… Well, he'd believe it.

When he'd caught wind of this "magical item" he'd immediately come to her. She'd sighed and waved him off, saying she wasn't interested in looking for it with him. He'd seemed unperturbed, shrugging instead and telling her he'd show it to her when he found it. And promptly, he and Happy were off and running, on their journey to find this new hypnosis spell.

Lucy'd sat at the guild all day, chatting with Levy, Cana, Mira, and pretty much anyone else who was around to kill her boredom. She was rather surprised he hadn't come back all day, but then again, if she was right –which she was 99.9% sure she was- and this magic didn't exist, Natsu would be out looking for something that wasn't there… So really it'd be a matter of how long Natsu was willing to keep searching, and if she knew him as well as she thought she did, he'd be at it for a long time.

She decided to retire to her apartment when she'd eaten dinner, the sky had grown dark, and the guild was becoming more and more empty. She'd gotten ready for bed, written some of her novel, and finally, as the clock ticked past midnight, she decided to hit the hay. He wasn't coming back, probably. He'd either found it and decided it was too late to show anyone, or he was still looking for it… The second option seemed more likely.

_Wham!_

"Kyaaa!" Lucy shot up in bed, her arms poised at the ready as if she were a karate master. It was dark but she saw the unmistakable outline of Natsu climbing through her window, Happy in tow. She lowered her arms, letting out a sigh and flicking on the light. She'd just closed her eyes too… Couldn't he have waited until morning?

"LUCY!" Woah, apparently not. Natsu scrambled, her rug flying out behind him in his wake as he landed on the floor by her bed with a thump and a grin wider than the sky itself. She'd been right in saying this was the most excited she'd seen him. She had no idea why he wanted a device that could hypnotize people, but he was damn near ecstatic about it.

"Yeah?" She tried not to yawn. Something that went along with his unbridled excitement this time was an unspoken rule that she needed to humor him. She wasn't sure why, maybe it was because she knew he'd been swindled, or maybe it was because she liked seeing him this happy, but either way, she knew she couldn't break this bubble. In fact, it seemed everyone in the guild knew it too. Sometimes Natsu went off on tangents, and you just had to go along with them.

"Lookie, look!" He sat criss-cross, leaning toward her bed and holding up his hand. Dangling from his fingertips was something that looked to be a necklace. From a thin rope hung a black disk about the size of Happy's paw. Thin white and purple lines were painted onto the disk, and a small sparkling blue gem sat embedded in the middle.

Lucy's eyebrows scrunched and she leaned towards it. It looked pretty legitimate, surprisingly. Whoever had pulled this prank on him had really pulled out all the stops. "So you found it?"

Natsu nodded so fast she was worried his head would fly off. "You betcha I did! And I didn't show anyone else before you so you're the first! Isn't it pretty?" He let out a laugh. "I can totally make people do whatever I want now."

He was talking a mile a minute and she had a hard time keeping up. "Mm, and what would that be?"

A dark look flashed across his eyes and he grinned. "Gray has no idea what he's in for." A surprisingly evil cackle-like laugh erupted from his throat and Lucy rolled her eyes. Of course he'd use it on Gray.

Happy seemed absolutely worn out from the day, just now making it to Natsu's side, his eyes already half-closed and his steps staggering. With a little effort he climbed up the side of her bed and flopped down on top, his head dipping forwards as he tried not to fall asleep.

"Well then, I'll make sure I'm there to watch," Lucy said, unable to keep the smile out of her voice. Something about Natsu's enthusiasm was just undeniably contagious.

"Luce, hey Luce, hey… Can I try it out on you?"

"Me?" She pointed to herself, a little surprised. She hadn't even considered the fact that he'd want to hypnotize her… Although, it was probably something she should've expected. He probably wanted to make her eat a paper towel or cuddle with a bug or something humiliating. But then again, this thing was a fake, right? She was still 99.9% sure. So then again, there wasn't anything to lose. "Yeah, sure, alright."

"Alright!" Natsu pumped a fist into the air before an utterly serious expression overtook his face. "Okay, so just look at the little blue stone and don't take your eyes off of it, 'kay?" She nodded, fixing her eyes onto the rock. Natsu began to move it back and forth, slowly making the arc of the necklace in the air larger and larger. He hummed three notes after about a minute, and then snapped his fingers.

Lucy stared as the medallion slowed to a stop, hanging like it had before. Was she still of sane mind?... Yes, yes she was. She'd been right; this was a fake. Whew, that was a relief… Although it would really put Natsu in the dumps to know he'd been tricked.

"O-okay, Luce… are you under the spell?" He leaned forward in anticipation.

Something about telling him 'no' made her heart sink a little… and whether it was because of the fact that she couldn't stand to end the charismatic excitement he had, or because she wanted him to try it out on Gray like he wanted without knowing it was a dud, she wasn't sure, but somehow she decided that she'd go along with it, at least for as long as she could. They were in her room, alone, after all. She could embarrass herself in front of him; that didn't matter. Oh Mavis, she hoped she didn't get herself into anything too crazy.

What was his question? Oh yeah, if she was under the spell… "Yes." The smile that stretched across his face then was worth everything she knew she was about to do. Yes, seeing him this happy was something that was worth humiliation.

"Ooh, ooh, really?" He scrambled to his feet. "Okay, so the guy said I could make people do stuff or make them answer stuff or really anything…" He scratched his chin. "Okay, get out of bed."

Here went nothing. She pulled back the covers, careful not to disturb Happy who'd lost his battle with sleep and was now laying face-down on her mattress. She stepped out of bed, standing straight like a soldier and awaiting her next order.

Natsu's eyes widened. "Holy crap this thing really works!" She had a hard time keeping it together as he did a small and quite awkward-looking happy dance. If she cracked a smile he'd know she was faking it. "Lucy! Lucy! Do the chicken dance!"

Oh god.

Somewhat reluctantly she forced herself to begin flapping her arms like wings and was surprised as Natsu joined in. She moved her head like a chicken, opened and closed her hands like a beak, and clapped, and Natsu did the same. Had someone looked inside she was positive whoever it was would've thought they'd gone insane. She had no idea why Natsu was joining her in her dance, but her best guess was he was so excited he wanted to dance… and so he just figured he'd do the same thing she was doing.

He stopped a moment later, grinning ear-to-ear and laughing a true laugh, something so innocent and pure that once again she was glad she was somehow going along with this. She didn't stop; she'd played far too many "mother says" games to know that if he stopped, she was technically "still under the trance" and should keep dancing until he gave her another order.

"Luce, keep doing the chicken dance and go get the chicken in your fridge and dance with it." He started laughing again in the middle of his command and through his loud guffaws she could hardly tell what he was saying.

Her chicken? The one she'd planned on trying to cook tomorrow? How on Earthland had he even known that was in there? She'd picked it up on the way home. Man, it was like he kept constant surveillance on everything she had that was edible in her apartment. She forced herself to keep going, dancing her way over to her fridge and opening it.

She pulled out the chicken, still in its plastic casing, and held it up in front of herself. _'Just do it for his sake'_ , she thought to herself… and slowly began her dance again, wiggling the chicken out in front of her. She was met with even louder peals of laughter.

"Lucy, Lucy no take it out of the package! Make it do the chicken dance with you!" It was even harder to understand what he was saying this time.

What?! No, she wasn't taking the chicken out! She wasn't cooking it until the next day and she was highly certain it wasn't sanitary to have a bare chicken sitting in her fridge… or to be holding –nay, _dancing_ with one either. Luckily, it seemed he got a better idea before she could really delve into the internal conversation of how far she was going to go with this.

"Wait! No, do it with Happy!" Ah, that was easier. She put the chicken back into the fridge, closing it and dancing her way back over to her bed, picking up Happy underneath the arms and holding him out in front of her. The cat barely even stirred, his head bobbing once and a slurred _'No, that fish is too small'_ falling from his lips. Good thing he was a hard sleeper.

She moved his arms around then, mimicking the chicken dance she'd performed earlier, and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as tears began to spring into Natsu's eyes from his laughter. Heh, she was actually getting some satisfaction out of this too… Now she wished someone _would_ come in and take a picture of this. She could blackmail Happy with it for as long as she wanted. He'd never call her fat again. This time it was her turn to have an evil look flash across her face.

Luckily, Natsu didn't notice, instead shaking his head as he tried to tell her to put Happy back down, hardly able to even form the words. Lucy set Happy back down on the bed and Natsu put his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

"Oh my god," he wheezed slightly. "This thing is genius!" Natsu straightened, looking at the necklace again before nodding. "Okay, now… hmmmm." He looked around her apartment. Oh goodness, what was next? She knew she couldn't speak up but she really hoped he wouldn't drag this out too long. She actually was pretty tired. "Ah, I know. Show me where your novel is!"

No. No. Just… No.

She blinked, staring blankly at him. Maybe he'd think she hadn't heard him…

He squinted as she stood still. "Ah… your… book?" Did he really think the way he worded it was the problem? "You never let me look at it because you don't want me to read it." He looked a little defeated. "But now's my chance! Not to read it, but… I dunno just do something to it…"

Oh… he didn't want to read it? That was a whole different ball of wax then. Sure, it sounded a little like he wanted to burn it to smithereens, but she honestly didn't care. She had about four copies of it, stashed in different places, including one in Levy's room, so even if he did destroy it, it wasn't a big deal.

She mechanically turned towards her desk and walked over to it. Natsu seemed excited his command had resonated and skipped up beside her, letting out a happy humming sound as she bent over near her desk chair. Crap, now he'd know where she hid it… Although honestly he probably already knew, he was just wanting her to do it herself. She reached under her desk, pulling her novel out from a small little shelf that wasn't visible unless you were under the desk. One that she'd installed herself the week that she'd "Natsu-proofed" her apartment, which had also included buying locks for her fridge and window, neither of which she'd had the heart to install yet.

She pulled out her novel, dropping it onto the desk with a loud thump.

"Wow," Natsu breathed. "It's gotten so much bigger! She's really dedicated isn't she…" he looked off to the side for a moment in thought and she had to work even harder not to blush. The way he was talking was as if he were alone. Natsu shook his head, instead quickly grabbing the pen sitting on her desk, and licking one of his fingers.

He grabbed the stack of papers by the corner, ruffling them for a bit until he'd found one in the middle, and stopped, opening the page just enough to see the top fourth of the sheet. He scribbled a tiny smiley face on the top right corner and nodded before putting the papers back as he'd found them, and placing the pen back on the desk.

He snickered. "She'll never even know it's there." He sounded so mischievous. So that's what he'd wanted to do to her book? Half of her wanted to conk him on the head for being an idiot and the other half wanted to say 'awww', although she wasn't entirely sure why. "Okay, put your novel back, Luce." He nodded again, brushing off his hands as if he were just finished with a job well done.

She crawled back under the desk, setting her novel back in its rightful place and climbing back out again. Seriously, even though he'd only had her do two things, none of which were _that_ bad, she hoped he'd tire out soon, or at least grow bored of "controlling" her.

Luckily, the gods were with her.

"Mmkay, Luce, go ahead and crawl back in bed. I gotta make sure I save the good stuff for Gray; wouldn't want to wear this thing out." He again let out a laugh that could only be described as a cackle.

She rolled her eyes when he turned his back but followed his orders, stalking back over and climbing into bed. So what did he have to do to break this "trance" anyway? He sat down beside her bed again and she leaned on her elbow to look at him, figuring that if she was under some sort of control, she'd have to look at the person controlling her for her next order. At least, she figured that's what Natsu thought.

He scratched his head. "The guy said I could ask you any question, too… and you'd answer honestly…" He cocked his head. "Was it you who ate my donut last week? The one I laid on the table?"

_Seriously_. _That_ was the question he asked? "No." It'd been Erza actually, and Lucy hadn't had the guts to tell her that the donut she was eating was Natsu's.

Natsu nodded. "Hmmm, okay. What is your biggest fear?"

Woah, that'd gotten real serious, real fast. She had no qualms with telling him the truth; she knew he wouldn't make fun. "That I'm a burden, or not useful, to the team." She wasn't sure if it was her biggest, but one of the big ones.

Natsu stared at her for a moment, his eyes flickering back and forth to both of hers, an unnamed emotion steeled inside. She swallowed lightly, unsure of what he would do next. "What color do you honestly consider my hair?"

Well, there'd gone that nice moment. Although, honestly this question seemed harder than the fear one… "Salmon." After having him harp at her for so long about it she honestly didn't consider it pink anymore.

"Yes!" It looked as if he'd won… although what he was winning she wasn't sure. He fist pumped again. "I knew it! Ha! It's salmon!" A smug look overtook his face as he contemplated his next question. "Would you be willing to brainstorm with me what stupid things I can make Gray do?"

"No." Really, she was humoring him now, she wasn't going to do it again.

He deflated. "Fine. Would you ever want to have a sleepover at my house since we always sleep here? I mean, I know your bed is the best, in like, the world, but I think it'd be fun to stay over at my place sometime." He looked hopeful.

Had he wanted to do that for some time now? "Yeah, sure." It kinda sounded fun to stay at his place. She'd been there before, and while messy, it was rather homey… it smelled a lot like him too.

"Awesome!" The third fist pump of the night. "If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be?"

"Erza." Weirdly enough she'd already thought that one through.

"Rather than Erza?"

She had to think about that one. "Makarov." She'd kinda like to see a 'day in the life of a guild master'.

Natsu nodded as if he were impressed. "Who's your best friend?"

"L-" She bit her tongue. Levy was her best friend… well, best friend that was a girl. Natsu was her best friend overall, she guessed. Maybe it was the insane amount of time they spent together or that he was the first one of the guild she'd met, but whenever she'd thought to herself about who her best friend was, Natsu was always the answer. She'd figured she'd just tell him Levy, as that was probably what he was expecting anyway, but part of her didn't want to lie, and she hadn't missed the slight twitch of his eyes, almost a flinch, when she'd uttered that first 'L'. Maybe he wanted her to say it was him… Maybe she'd been imagining things… Either way, no matter how embarrassing it seemed to tell him, she would tell the truth. "You are."

His eyes lit up immediately, his entire body straightening up in what she pegged as pure joy. Ah, she'd been right; he _had_ wanted her to say it was him. Why?… Was she _his_ best friend? No, that was surely Happy… Crap, now she really wanted to know.

Just as quickly as the light in his eyes had come, it faded, and with it his entire body slouched a bit. "Do you only see me as a best friend?"

_What?!_

No, no, he hadn't just seriously asked that, had he? Natsu didn't ask things like that. He just didn't. He was supposed to be the oblivious one and she was supposed to be the one who asked those things. This was a total role-reversal. A million emotions began to bubble up inside of her and she quickly pushed them down. No. She wouldn't answer that question today. This was not the time to deal with it. "I don't understand the question."

Natsu forced a smile. "Ah, yeah, naw, forget it. That was a stupid thing to ask anyway." He let out an awkward laugh.

Wow, the entire atmosphere had changed in the course of a few seconds. She felt the need to clear her throat to get things going again but refrained. If she really were hypnotized, she wouldn't do such a thing.

"Um, yeah, so… Who do you think is the prettiest in the guild?" He was trying to put a lighthearted tone back into the question-giving.

"Mira."

"I thought you might say yourself," Natsu snorted, and she had to try rather hard not to glare at him. He always downplayed her looks. Tch. That just brought back memories of their first job when she'd dressed as a maid. Her sexual confidence had taken a major hit that day thanks to him. "Who do you think is the most handsome in the guild?"

What was with these questions?! And he was totally transparent too! He was looking off to the side all awkward-like, easily giving away that he wanted her to say _he_ was… Why the hell would he want that? Did he want an ego trip? Or maybe his question before about only being friends…- _NO!_ That wasn't how it was. Again, Natsu was the one to be oblivious and she was the one to go after _him_. That's just the way it was. That was something that would never be role-reversed.

But she would answer honestly, even if it was… oh so awkward. Because yes, she thought he was the most good-looking in the guild, whether because she was blinded by whatever stupid feelings she had towards him, or because he really was handsome, she didn't know. "You are."

Oh god there she'd gone and said it. Maybe she should pretend to snap out of the trance and act all confused. That would put an abrupt halt to this increasingly uncomfortable question-answer situation.

Natsu coughed in surprise, his eyes snapping back to hers and once again she had to resist the urge to blush… and look away. "Really?" Maybe the ego trip had been the right answer; he sounded overjoyed.

"Yes."

He'd probably prance around now, or puff out his chest, or hold this against her for the rest of her life. The third one seemed the most probable. Great, let the gloating begin-

"Who do you love, Luce?"

WHAT?! No, nonononono, no. No. She was not going to think about those words he just said. She wasn't going to do it. She wasn't even going to let it slip into her mind that possibly he actually just said that, because she definitely had to be hearing things. She'd answer, deter him, and hopefully he'd be done with this whole hypnosis thing. She'd never seen him as excited about anything before in her life, and yes, it was worth faking it to see him that happy, but things were just getting weird now.

"My mother, my father, my teammates, Fairy Tail…" She trailed off, hoping that was enough to get him off this vein of super suggestive questions.

Natsu nodded. "D-" He closed his mouth, letting out what sounded to be a low and frustrated growl to himself. "Do you love me?" He blurted it out so fast and so loud she could tell it'd taken some courage to ask.

There he went again. Dammit. She really didn't want to ponder over the fact that Natsu might actually have feelings for her. Mainly because she didn't know if A- her heart could handle it, and B- that the undoubtedly red blush she'd have would ever fade back down to her normal skin color. And even more than that, she was absolutely _positive_ she didn't want to have this conversation, or answer these questions, when he thought she was under some sort of spell. Although, maybe that's why he was acting so weird… Maybe he was able to ask these things if he knew she wouldn't remember them…

_Crap_. Now she was even more flustered. The thought of Natsu being embarrassed and afraid that she didn't love him was quite possibly the most adorable thing she could picture, and also something it seemed her brain couldn't comprehend. No. This is where she drew the line. Maybe he'd find out she'd been faking, maybe he'd think she just snapped out of it on her own, but honestly, she didn't care.

She'd do something… something to distract him, and something that would derail this entire incredibly nerve-wracking and confusing conversation. Yep, she'd pull out her trump card.

"Lucy-kick!"


	16. Battle of the Pounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natsu wasn't exactly sure how his quest to get Lucy's attention ended in him getting beaten by Happy in a self-imposed weightlifting competition...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just another insanely stupid but hopefully cute one.   
> I hope you enjoy! :D

She wasn't paying attention to him… and it was kinda frustrating.

Natsu never considered himself to be an "attention hog" as some called it. He'd been accused of stealing the spotlight a few times, mainly by either Gray, who was trying to piss him off, Cana, who was just drunk and grumpy, or even Erza, who was just a little frustrated that he didn't think twice before attacking whatever was in front of him, and therefore, making a scene, but he wasn't an attention hog.

Although, if he really had to think about it, he couldn't come up with a single member of Fairy Tail who probably attracted more attention than he did. Maybe he was charismatic. That sounded like a good reason.

But in all honesty, no, he didn't _try_ to get other's attention, it just sort of… happened.

It was the truth… Well, until Lucy was involved. It wasn't like he went out of his way to get her to pay attention to him… Well, yeah, he sort of did make a fool of himself just to make her laugh, or… yeah, he kinda did ponder what he could do when they came back from a job so he'd get to spend more time with her, but he definitely wasn't seeking out her attention… He wasn't even convincing himself.

It was kinda frustrating, in a way: he wasn't sure why he wanted her attention, but he did. There was just something exciting about when she'd 'ooh' or 'ah' over a spell of his, or even when she'd reprimand him for being a dofus, he got some sort of fuzzy feeling of satisfaction inside. He guessed because when she did those things, it showed she cared about him. And honestly, her attention was usually easy to come by.

If she wasn't chatting with Levy or Mira, or out on a job on her own, he was usually her number one priority. Or at least he'd like to think he was. He was with her nearly every minute of every day, and they talked more to each other than to anyone else, so he was used to having her attention showered upon him.

And so it was times like these, when she was preoccupied with something else, that were the most frustrating.

There she was, chatting with Happy of all people. Usually Happy was teasing her and she was spitting threats at the cat, but today… they were actually talking. About what? Natsu didn't know. He'd been too engrossed in his own thoughts and obvious pouting to really listen. Here he was, sitting on the bench across from her, and she wasn't even looking in his direction.

He narrowed his eyes, his arms already crossed. This was a bunch of crap. They had a few days off. A few glorious days without anything to do. So what should they be doing? Having fun, of course. They could be anywhere, doing anything, and having the time of their lives if she'd just look his way and ask him what he wanted to do. Usually she did that without him even having to think about it, but not today.

Of course not.

Natsu stifled the urge to begin mumbling angrily to himself and decided to tune into the conversation. What was so damn interesting that she wasn't even including him in the discussion?

Just as quickly as he tuned in, he tuned out. Apparently Happy had gotten shot down by Carla yet again and in a moment of weakness, was actually consulting Lucy on relationship advice. Hah. Natsu never thought he'd see that day. Although, Lucy did seem to know a fair amount about such things.

He watched, his frown drooping farther and farther downward as they bantered back and forth, shooting ideas back at one another as to how Happy could win Carla's affection. Apparently they'd settled on the fact that Happy needed to do some "training". Carla had come back to Fairy Tail stronger than ever after the year the guild was dissolved. She had a humanesque form, just like Lily now, and was able to help in combat far more than she'd ever been able to in her Exceed form.

Happy however, was not so lucky. He'd tried and tried to change, become more human, stronger, anything, but it didn't work. Throughout their own year traveling around, growing stronger, Natsu had watched and helped with Happy's training too. Although, he'd be dipped if his little partner had gotten any stronger. Personally, Natsu thought Happy was just fine the way he was. Being able to fly was all he needed. Some pesky and sort of weird human form wasn't necessary. But it seemed awfully important to Happy, so Natsu kept his mouth shut.

But seriously, why wasn't Lucy turning to him and asking his opinion? She always did that. And if she didn't, Happy usually did. Did they not think he was well-versed enough in training to know the best methods? He was practically the god of all training. He could turn a wimp into a warrior overnight!

Tch.

Or maybe they thought he wasn't well-versed enough in trying to win a woman's affections to know what Happy was going through… Yeah, right. After all, he was the one pouting because a certain woman wasn't paying him any attention…. Although, it wasn't like he was actually speaking up about it… or really doing anything to get her attention… Maybe he _wasn't_ very good at it. He'd never really had to try to get her attention before, after all.

Yeah, maybe he'd just interject into the conversation and make her pay attention to him. It seemed like a simple solution; he wasn't sure why he hadn't done it before. He'd force her to talk to him. Hah.

But before he even had time to open his mouth, it seemed Lucy and Happy had come to some sort of conclusion. Happy bounded up on top of the table, sprouting his wings and promptly taking off full-speed toward the guild doors. Natsu raised his eyebrows as Lucy stood as well, stretching, not seemingly as enthused as Happy was.

"You coming?" she asked, looking a little surprised that Natsu wasn't as gung-ho as Happy to get going.

"Oh, y-yeah." Well, at least she'd spoken to him. Seriously though, he hoped whatever this was with Happy would be over quickly; he wanted to do something fun, just the three of them, and sitting and chatting in the guild wasn't his idea of fun. He stood. "Where're we going?"

Lucy looked slightly surprised he didn't know, before shaking her head and answering him. "We're going to Gajeel's place. You weren't listening at all to our conversation, were you?" She snorted lightly to herself as he gave an awkward laugh, shaking his head. "And why doesn't that surprise me?" She gave him a smile and sashayed around the table, walking towards the guild doors. He followed and she explained. "Happy was asking about ways he could become stronger for Carla. He told me all about the training you two did over the past year, and after a little brainstorming, we decided that one of the only methods he hadn't tried, was weightlifting."

Natsu's eyes widened slightly. She was kidding, right? "Weightlifting?"

Lucy bit her lip, a grin stretching across her face. "I'm not so sure Happy'll be too good at it, but hey, he wanted to try." She couldn't bite back her laughter, a few half-stifled giggles making their way through her lips. She slapped a hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry, but just the thought of him trying to lift a barbell is…" She broke out into laughter, one hand still over her mouth as the other clutched her stomach. "I feel a little bad for laughing, but this is gonna be priceless," she somehow managed to choke out through her giggles.

Natsu had to admit he sort of felt like laughing at the thought, too. He loved his buddy Happy, but that cat was just too small to lift something like weights. Well, he lifted people… but that was a little different. Natsu smirked. "So why Gajeel's place?"

Lucy shrugged. "Levy said he had a ton of weights over there, although she's never seen him use any. We asked and Gajeel said Happy was welcome to try. He seemed just about as amused by it as I am." Lucy chuckled to herself.

Wait… had Levy and Gajeel come over and joined in Lucy and Happy's conversation? Natsu pushed open the guild door. He hadn't thought he'd been _that_ engrossed in his own thoughts and pouting over the lack of attention he was receiving. He almost felt a little embarrassed. He really hadn't been paying attention, had he.

Surprisingly it didn't take very long to find Gajeel's… hut? Shack? Cabin? Natsu wasn't sure what to call it. It was out in the Magnolia woods, just like his own home, although it looked much less home-like. But then again, Natsu couldn't really think of a time when Gajeel had ever said he was going home, and he was almost always out on jobs or in the guild anyway, so it wasn't surprising that Gajeel's home wouldn't look too welcoming if it wasn't often used. Plus, Gajeel gave off the same unwelcoming aura so it was rather fitting.

Happy was already there, dragging out many different sized weights, some small and disk-shaped, and some the classic barbell, nearly ten times his size, but he was making do. Happy smiled and waved when he saw them in the distance, wiping his brow and happily calling out that he 'almost had them all out on the lawn, and that no one be alarmed, but there were some creepy spiders in a corner inside Gajeel's house that he was pretty sure yelled at him to go away'.

Lucy assured Happy she wouldn't go inside if there were spiders, and Natsu seriously doubted they'd yelled at Happy… Although, he had to admit the curiosity to see if there really were talking spiders inside of the hut was a little overwhelming.

"So which one are ya gonna try first?" Lucy's smile was evident in her tone as she put her hands on her hips, surveying the weights strewn across the grass.

Happy floated in the air, looking down at all of them carefully and tapping his chin in pondering. "Maybe this one?" He fluttered over to one of the smaller barbells, the free weights on the sides clocking in at twenty pounds.

Lucy gave him a nod, approving of his choice. Twenty pounds wasn't too much for a cat that normally carried around humans. Although, Natsu wasn't sure exactly how his buddy's magic worked. Perhaps the only reason he could tote around Natsu's weight was because he was using his wings.

Happy floated to the ground, his wings disappearing in a poof as he trotted over to the weight, a look of pure determination on his little face.

"Don't throw out your back," Lucy said, sounding a little concerned and a little amused all at the same time.

Happy glared up at her. "If carrying _you_ hasn't hurt me yet, I don't think this will."

Lucy glared back and Natsu could practically see the sparks flying in the air.

And just like that Lucy wasn't paying attention to him again. He wasn't quite sure what his deal was today. He was really awfully hung up on her and whether or not he was the one she was looking at. He supposed it really was because today was a day off, and usually one spent together, or maybe it was because he felt sort of like a third wheel. Either way, it was really getting on his nerves.

Happy bent down, taking a deep breath and wrapping his paws around the cool metal bar. With a heave, he lifted it up, albeit not without struggling, and proudly displayed his feat of strength with his arms straight above his head, holding the weight. Happy beamed. "Look! Look how easy it was!"

Happy's entire body was trembling and it was more than obvious it hadn't been completely easy, but nonetheless Lucy seemed impressed. Her aura of malice disappeared and she gave a few light claps. "Impressive. If you keep doing that, you'll be stronger in no time. Watch out Carla." Lucy giggled. It really did seem as if Lucy was routing for Happy to win over Carla's heart in the end. No matter how much she bickered with Happy, Natsu always knew she was routing for him.

Although, it was sort of irritating that Happy was still getting all the attention. Lucy'd even clapped for him.

Happy dropped the weight back onto the ground with a thud and a loud sigh. "Should I go higher? Forty pounds?" He looked around himself, trying to spot another two ten pound weights.

Lucy gave an awkward and concerned laugh. "Maybe you should just keep it up for a bit with those. You can always add more later, you know."

Happy nodded, heaving the weight up again as Lucy clapped like his own little personal cheerleader.

Fine. If it was weightlifting that got her excited, he could do it too. Natsu made his way to what he presumed was the largest and heaviest barbell, taking a peek at the weights already stacked onto the ends. They added up to 100 pounds in all. That seemed like a good place to start. Heh. Happy couldn't top that.

"Yo, Luce! Look!" With a deep breath he mimicked Happy, heaving the weight over his head with little problem. It'd been a lot easier than he'd thought. He knew he was strong, but it was a little bit of a pride boost to know he could lift at least as much as Gajeel did.

Lucy turned around, looking mildly surprised that Natsu was joining in on the workout. "Ah, lookin' good there, Muscle Head." It was a tad sarcastic, but he knew she meant well. He gave her the biggest grin he could, his heart skipping once in joy as her attention was solidly back on him.

"H-hey, I-I can do that too!" It appeared Happy thought he was being upstaged. Natsu glanced over as Happy dropped his weight, scampering around and throwing a ten pound weight on either side of his barbell. With a heave he somehow managed to get it over his head, although it looked as if his legs were dangerously close to giving out on him. Natsu guessed his question on whether or not it was Happy's magic that allowed him to lift heavy things such as people was answered. Yup, it was the wings.

"Ooh," Lucy awed, clapping yet again.

Hey. _He_ hadn't gotten any applause when he'd lifted three times what Happy had. Was it childish and a little unfair to compare his feat with Happy's? Yes, but it seemed as if his brain was completely blocking out that fact, instead now determined to impress Lucy more than Happy was.

Natsu dropped his weight on the grass with a muffled crash, the weights digging into the grass and leaving a few-inch-deep impression into the grass. He quickly found two twenty pounders and without hesitation, slipped them on the ends, giving a sarcastic yawn as he lifted the bar over his head once again.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, looking a little confused and as if she wasn't sure what sort of reaction Natsu wanted out of this. "U-um… Impressive?" She clapped once, looking beyond perplexed on whether or not she was supposed to be encouraging the newly founded show-off between her two teammates.

Happy let out a 'hmph' and once again found two more ten pound weights. It was nearly painful to watch as the cat once again struggled, every inch of his body shaking as he somehow slowly managed to lift it above his head. Beads of sweat were breaking out on his forehead and his whiskers looked a little wilted as he somehow managed a smirk. "Hah," he grunted, unable to wheeze out anything else.

Was it sort of a cheap shot to keep on going up against Happy, who was clearly about to burst a blood vessel in his forehead? Yeah. But as Lucy again clapped, this time whispering that Happy really didn't need to push himself, Natsu was more determined than ever. He would not be outdone by a cat.

Natsu moved his right hand to the center of the bar, letting go with his left and sporting a cocky grin as he held the weight with one hand, walking over to find a few more free weights. Was it heavy? Yes. He immediately regretted going one-handed the second he'd let go, but he'd be damned if he let it show that he was struggling. Hell no he wouldn't.

With a little less grace than he'd hoped to achieve, he picked up four disks, probably of varying weights, but he didn't care. He somehow managed to slip two on one side and two on the other. He raised an eyebrow in a silent challenge for Happy to top that, his eyes trailing back to Lucy who was indeed clapping. Although, she looked as if she was not only worried for the health of both of them, but also a bit disapproving.

And from there, the challenge was on. Happy hopped on one foot, Natsu balanced a weight on his head at the same time, Happy danced while holding the weights, and Natsu did jumping jacks, all the while both slowly adding more and more poundage as they went.

Natsu was more determined than ever and it appeared Happy was too. It'd started off as a way to get Lucy's attention, but as his own partner challenged him, it became something a little more. He wouldn't lose. Natsu Dragneel did not lose. The battle was raging. All Natsu could see was Happy, his opponent, and his fiery determination not to lose. He'd completely tuned Lucy out, who'd sat down on the grass, watching with wide eyes as they topped each other's feats and added more weight.

Natsu had honestly lost track of how heavy his weight was, or Happy's, but he was positive the only thing keeping them both from collapsing was their sheer determination. Natsu also wasn't entirely sure how long their "battle" went on for, but before he knew it, there was only one weight left, sitting on the ground, and both he and Happy had reached for it at the same time, both firmly grabbing onto it and refusing to let go.

"I need this," he grunted, glaring at Happy.

"No, I do," Happy huffed, staring him down.

"C'mon I have eight on one side and nine on the other, mine isn't even."

"I need this one. For Carla."

"You've already lost just give it up."

"Yeah, right, I'm kicking your butt and you know it."

"What? Are you kidding? Did you see my balancing act? That was a perfect ten!"

"More like a perfect zero. My no-handed Macarena was flawless and you know it. Now _that_ takes skill."

"I'm holding like three times as much as you are."

"Oh yeah, well I'm holding like five times my body weight."

"Leave the lifting to the professionals."

"What, the professional losers? I'm training here; what's your excuse?"

"I'm training too!"

"Since when?"

"Since you gave me that 'I challenge you' look!"

"I didn't give you that look."

"Yes you did! You practically asked Lucy to be the referee!"

"I didn't even say anything to Lucy!"

"But you were thinking it!"

Their small show-off was interrupted by a quiet, yet easily recognizable sound. The sound that Natsu was usually ultimately after when he wanted Lucy's attention.

Both Happy and Natsu looked off to the side where Lucy had been sitting for the duration of their competition. She was laughing, a real laugh from her stomach as she smacked the ground, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "You guys are just too much," she choked out, falling over backwards onto the grass.

Natsu's eyes widened slightly, an involuntary smile twitching at his lips. There, that's what he'd wanted all day. She was paying attention to him, and Happy, but _him_ and he'd entertained her. He'd made her happy.

Taking his moment of distraction to his advantage, Happy snatched the weight from Natsu's hand, slipping it onto his bar and letting out a victory yell.

There was a collective ' _boom_ ' as both Natsu and Happy dropped their weights, collapsing in exhaustion onto the grass as Lucy continued to guffaw loudly to herself a few yards away.

Natsu's chest heaved as he looked up at the sky, his determination fading and the very real soreness of his muscles kicking in. He wasn't sure he'd be able to move tomorrow. That'd been intense. His head rolled to look over at Happy who was wheezing and sputtering as if he'd just run a marathon. In all reality, his little buddy had put up one hell of a fight. "Good job, Happy. You deserve it," he said, holding out his fist.

Happy somehow managed a smile, tapping his paw against Natsu's fist. "Aye, sir."

Eh, he'd lost. Honestly it didn't sting as much as he'd thought it would. Happy really did deserve it, in all reality.

But Natsu supposed the biggest reason why it didn't sting, was because somehow he'd gotten what he'd wanted out of it, even if he'd lost sight of his goal somewhere in the middle. He'd gotten Lucy's attention, and he'd made her laugh. And in the end, if that happened, in his mind he'd already won.


	17. Home for the Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~She had to work on Christmas day. At least he was there to keep her a little company.~

_Modern! AU_

Lucy sighed, resting her head on her hand as she watched the snow outside the window fall gently to the ground. Everything was peaceful and perfect, seemingly muted by the powdery scene outside. A white Christmas. She couldn't remember how many times she'd wished for one as a child. A few had turned out white, but overall it'd been a rare occurrence.

It figured that now, the one year she had to work on Christmas, turned out white and beautiful. It almost seemed as if it was the best Christmas Magnolia had ever seen. At least in her lifetime.

She sighed again, shoving off of the counter but keeping her eyes focused outside. Her job at the diner was new, and so she hadn't complained aloud when the manager had told her she was working through the holidays. She hadn't minded too much, but when she got word that her mother's family was actually coming to visit her and her father on Christmas, it took all the wind out of her sails.

Christmases with her father were… alright. When celebrated with him it felt just like any other day of the year. He worked, they ate together, and she went to bed. The only thing that made it Christmas-like was the festive gatherings she shared with any family that came to visit, and of course the maids, butlers, and cooks, who were all in high spirits.

But it was a different story with her mother's family. They were the only tie she had left to Layla. They didn't visit often, in fact, she could barely even remember the last time she'd seen them, nearly ten years ago now. She'd been ecstatic, and then heartbroken when she'd heard news of their visit, reminded that she'd promised to work through the day.

She glanced around the barren café. There wasn't really any point to it. In the morning they'd had a few customers but as the day wore on, the people became scarce and then nonexistent. Hell, she could leave now and absolutely no one would miss her. The most productive thing she could do was fog the windows with her breath, draw a snowflake or two in the condensation, and then clean them off again.

With an 'ugh' she collapsed back onto the counter. This was the worst.

"Yo, what's got ya down? It's Christmas!" She shot up from the counter, looking a little embarrassed that she'd been caught slacking. Not that Natsu would blame her; he was practically the master of slacking.

Natsu, her fellow waiter and someone she considered a… friend. She'd only met him about two weeks ago when she'd gotten the job but they'd hit it off immediately, and she'd grown comfortable around him. At least as comfortable as she could get when her heart thudded a little faster in his presence. She'd promised herself she wouldn't develop a crush on her coworker, but she'd fallen victim to her own subconscious desires. Ah, puppy love was a pain.

"Yeah, it is. And I'm not down… just… bored," she laughed awkwardly. Lucy knew she hadn't fooled a fly.

Natsu looked around the diner aimlessly. "Yeah… it is pretty slow around here." He yawned. "But you are down… I can tell. Lemme guess… you wanted to spend today with your family?" He cocked an eyebrow, knowing he'd already hit the nail on the head.

She frowned. He was a little oblivious when it came to a lot of things, but he was also freakishly in-tune with a lot of others. He was a curious person; she'd leave it at that. "Yeah, I was hoping to spend today with family and not… here." She gestured around herself with exasperation. "Sorry, no offense."

Natsu shook his head, shrugging. "None taken." He sauntered over next to her, leaning on his elbows onto the counter next to her. "Do you always spend Christmas with family?"

She nodded, leaning down next to him. They both looked outside, watching the snow as it lulled them into a sense of tranquility. "Yeah, usually with my dad. Some extended family is coming into town for today though, so I'm really bummed I'm going to miss them."

He turned to look at her. "They leaving before you get home?"

"Yup, they were just sort of passing through."

"Ah, that sucks… You'll get to see them again sometime though, right?" he asked, looking back outside.

Lucy shrugged, bobbing her head to the sides. "Eh, maybe, maybe not. I haven't seen them in almost a decade now. Since my mom's been gone they don't really come around much." Wow, she could feel she'd just put a damper on the mood. Way to be a downer on Christmas. She laughed and shoved off of the counter, waving her hand as if to clear the air. "But that's not important! What's important is that it's Christmas, and even if I'm stuck here… I can make the best of it." She nodded.

Natsu, the eternally cheery one, however, didn't smile. He inclined his head back towards her, still leaning on the counter. "Your mom's… y'know…" He cleared his throat. "Passed away… right?"

Wow, he just wasn't catching on that she didn't want the conversation to be depressing on Christmas. "Yeah, she has."

"And you _really_ don't know when you'll get to see her family again?" He looked dead serious.

"N-no, but really, don't worry about it." There was something weird about seeing him this stoic. She'd never seen him like this before… Although she honestly didn't know if that was saying much. They were just acquaintances-turned-new-friends after all.

He bit his lip, looking back down towards his own hands for a moment before he gave a determined nod. "Hey, you go on back home, 'kay? I'll cover for ya. That way you can see your family, right?" He gave her his toothy grin that she'd grown to love.

"Eh?" she peeped, stepping back a pace. "But you get off in an hour… You'd be staying for another shift after you've already worked double! I can't let you do that. Plus, you have family to get back to too!" She shook her head. She wouldn't accept it. Although, it was undeniably sweet, she had to admit.

Natsu's grin disappeared as quickly as it'd come. "Naw, I don't have any family waiting for me today."

Her eyebrows raised. She'd just assumed he had family to get together with today after he'd asked her about her own. "Really?"

He shook his head. "Nope… I've lived alone for the past seven years, and I don't really know a lot of my family…" He held up a finger, excitedly looking as if he'd remembered something. "Of course I have Happy! But he can wait another six or so hours for his dinner. I fed him too much this morning anyway." He let out a laugh.

Happy… If she remembered right that was his cat. He'd talked about Happy before, and a few of his friends, but now that she thought about it, he hadn't once mentioned any family. If he'd lived alone for the past seven years that was sort of… sad, in a way. She sensed he didn't want to really go into detail about his family, or she would've pushed for more. She wasn't quite sure what he meant by "not knowing" a lot of his family, and by the tone in his voice he was insinuating that of the family he did know, they weren't around.

But for some reason she couldn't help herself. "Do you celebrate Christmas alone?" She regretted it the minute she'd asked. Who was she to ask such a personal question? She was just some girl he worked with; not someone he wanted to tell his story to, or answer whether or not he was alone for the holidays. She'd overstepped her bounds and she felt extremely guilty. She opened her mouth to apologize and tell him he didn't need to respond but before she could, he blurted out his answer.

"No, I don't celebrate it alone! I have Happy!" He smiled. Luckily he wasn't the type to take things too seriously, and also the type not to be bothered by people asking overly personal questions.

She decided to push her luck. "But rather than Happy?"

Natsu's eyes trailed to the ground. "N-no, not for the time I've lived by myself, anyway."

Holy cow. So for the past seven years this boy who was easily the brightest and most happy person in any room, and someone who could make people feel better with just a few words, had been all alone for the holidays? She felt the nearly uncontrollable desire to hug him. She wanted to comfort him and although she didn't know his story, tell him it was going to be alright, and that she was there for him if he wanted her there.

She clasped her hands behind her back, almost forcefully having to restrict herself from crushing him in such a hug. Instead, blurting out what first came to mind. "You can celebrate Christmas with me and my family."

Her eyes widened and so did his. Although, she was sure for different reasons. What was she saying? She had to work all day. She couldn't invite him over because she wasn't going to be there. However, by the grin stretching across his face she knew he was on a completely different page.

"Really?" he breathed. "I could?"

Wow, he'd overlooked so many things there… And she was a little surprised he'd accepted so easily. Most people would've said it was fine, and agreed only after a little convincing. It was sort of polite to decline, making sure you weren't intruding or they hadn't asked you because they felt they needed to, before accepting. Well, he did seem like the type that preached 'my home is your home' and now apparently 'your home is my home'. But she really had been sincere in the invitation. She found herself smiling.

She hated to break him the bad news. "You could, really, but I have to work, remember?"

Natsu's mouth formed a tiny 'o' as he remembered how they'd started this conversation. "Oh, that's right. Sorry. But hey, I really will take your shift; don't worry about it."

She shook her head. "No, there's no way I could let you do that."

"It's not a big deal."

"No, I wouldn't know how to repay you."

"You don't hafta."

"I would feel like I do! I would just be too guilty. Thanks, but no thanks."

She sensed that he was going to keep insisting until she gave in but she would put up a fight. She really couldn't let him do such a thing.

However, another voice suddenly joined their conversation as the door to the kitchen burst open, hitting the wall with a bang. "Oy, will you two stop yer yammering and just get outta here already?" Lucy jumped and she spotted Natsu visibly flinch. She looked over her shoulder to see the third waiter who'd been booked for the day of Christmas: Gajeel. Honestly she hadn't spoken to him much if at all over her first two weeks, mainly because he was so intimidating, and so this sudden input was surprising.

She stuttered and stumbled over her words. She wasn't sure whether to say no, or protest, or ask him if he could handle it. Gajeel rolled his eyes and made a motion towards the door. She could practically read his mind telling them to scram. There was just no way she could-

"C'mon Luce," Natsu hissed in her ear, snatching her arm and practically carting her out from behind the counter and towards the door.

"But- we- I-"

"If we don't leave the offer won't stand. Believe me, I know this guy. Just take advantage of it; it'll be fine." With another yank he shoved the door open, pushing her outside and onto the sidewalk, quickly following in suit. It was freezing outside and her work attire was definitely not warm enough for the snow, not to mention her belongings were still in the back, but Natsu didn't seem to mind. She shivered, looking back into the diner window and contemplating whether to go snatch her stuff

Natsu looked a tad frustrated that she wasn't immediately gung-ho and skipping like a happy schoolgirl towards her home, and so he apparently decided to take matters into his own hands.

Warm fingers intertwined with her own as she was pulled forward yet again, this time a little gentler. He looked back over his shoulder, sprouting that grin once again, one that really felt as if it could melt her heart. "So, where do ya live?" She opened and closed her mouth aimlessly, stumbling after him and somehow managing to point to their right and give him some sort of general direction. He nodded, looking ahead again. "Oh, and hey… thanks for inviting me over… I know it was kinda sudden but…" He was silent for a moment, the only sound around being the crunch of their feet in the new fallen snow. He looked back over his shoulder again, his eyes as warm as any fire in the hearth and what she swore was the dusting of a blush across his cheeks. "It really meant a lot."

She felt her own lips twitching towards a smile as she gave him a slight nod. All of her worries, protests, and questions as to how the boss would take their absence were suddenly gone, replaced instead by excitement and Christmas cheer, thoughts of her family racing through her head and the warmth of Natsu's hand heating her heart. Maybe it was just a silly crush, but it felt right spending the holiday with him, especially if he would've been alone, and especially seeing that innocent smile and hearing that heartfelt 'thank you'.

Yes, she'd be home for the holidays to see her family, and she'd be bringing with her a new member of their little family. Maybe he wasn't related to her by blood, and no, she wasn't bringing him home as her boyfriend, but… he was family, in an extended and yet oh-so-close kind of way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little something I wrote about a year and a half ago for Christmas. For those that are like myself and love the winter time... hopefully this little wintery-thing will help get ya through. XD


	18. Breakable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~He was treating her as if she was made of glass, and it's her job to let him know she's still nothing but human.~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Longest one yet! I'm actually semi-happy with how this one turned out, and there's a kiss so that's always fun too. XD  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy! :D

Risking your life was practically written into the job description of a mage. While magic seemed fantastical to some who didn't use it, and resourceful to those who did, the fact was: it was dangerous. Magic in and of itself was basically a source of energy, but when pointed at someone else, could be used as a devastating attack method.

Mages who joined guilds to use their magic to make a living knew this the best. They also knew that they put their life on the line every time they went out on any job. Maybe it was an easy fluff job for just enough extra money to pay for their kid's birthday presents, but that didn't mean it was completely safe. There was always the chance that something went awry, even in a job that was dubbed "easy".

But they, the magic-users, continued on the path of guilds and fights even knowing how in danger they were. Because it was fun for some, whether to fight or fight alongside their family, or just the best way to earn an income for others.

That being said, Lucy had never once questioned whether or not being a mage was too dangerous. Magic was something… mystical, and yet something that was such a big part of who she was that not using it would almost feel like a crime. As if she would be denying who she really was.

She'd watched her friends, hurt at the hands of enemies, her partners brought to their knees, bloodied and battered, but she'd also seen them heal, smile through the pain and declare their love for the most ethereal of forces: magic.

And so no, she wasn't surprised or scared when she herself got hurt. It was mostly just cuts and bruises. She'd get back from a job and spend a few hours washing and patching herself up. Natsu usually came out with bandages from head to foot after an extraordinarily grueling job, his speech muffled by the cloth. She'd giggle at how silly he looked, and he'd undoubtedly spit a few angry words at her, although she couldn't understand what he was saying.

But really, that's all it'd been for her. She'd wondered if there'd ever be a time when she would come back from a job with her life still in limbo. Natsu, Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, they'd all had close calls. She could pick out a time when nearly anyone in the guild had been carted back into the infirmary, Mira's face stoic as she told everyone to wait patiently, and that they didn't know if the injured person was going to be alright or not. However, things always seemed to turn out alright, especially now with Wendy present and on-call if any of the injuries were too life-threatening.

As was the life of a mage. They watched their comrades have brushes with death, and visa versa. It was what they signed up for.

However, it was never what they were ready for.

Lucy had always wondered if she'd ever be on the other side of that curtain in the back infirmary of Fairy Tail, but she sure as hell hadn't been ready for it. However, it'd happened.

She couldn't remember a lick of what had happened after everything went black, although she'd heard enough to piece it together from the others. They'd been on a job, a normal job, and she and her teammates had split up. She was paired with Natsu and Happy, and Gray and Erza had gone in the other direction. They were looking for a fugitive, or something of the like, and so splitting up had been the most logical thing to do, since the area they were searching would take days if not weeks to cover if they all stayed together.

Night had fallen and they'd set up camp, again. They'd been at the search for a couple of days, and it was her second night camping out with Natsu and Happy. She sat by the fire, Natsu next to her as she looked up at the night sky.

Getting a few days of quality time with Natsu wasn't out of the ordinary, especially on search and find jobs like these, but she felt this one was a little different. Maybe it was because Mira's teasing had been absolutely incessant before they'd left, or maybe it was because it was freezing cold outside and they had to snuggle together for body heat, but whatever it was she felt… as if their relationship was changing.

He was acting a little funny, and while she hadn't been sure why, she'd found out that night as they'd sat by the fire. She'd never pictured Natsu to be the one to tell her he loved her first, but if she had, she definitely wouldn't have thought it to happen the way it did. It came out of nowhere. One second it was completely quiet aside from the crackling of the fire as she looked up at the stars in the sky, and the next, she heard him clear his throat and haphazardly blurt that he loved her, and that he just had to get it off his chest. It was so out-of-character for him and so out-of-the-blue that she'd been absolutely stunned silent.

And that was when it happened. Well, when whatever happened, happened; she couldn't remember a thing after that. Her entire world had gone black in a flash, so quickly she hadn't even realized she'd gotten hit. From what she'd heard she'd been attacked by some creature that was almost three stories tall. Erza had said she and Gray had heard the commotion nearly a mile away and after rushing to the sight, watched as Natsu tore the creature to bits. Erza had said she'd never seen him fight like that before, a knowing smile twitching at her lips.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that Natsu had known Lucy was seriously injured, and it also didn't take someone who knew Natsu too well to know he'd fly off the handle and his rage would be driving him in his fight.

It turned out the creature was actually the fugitive they'd been looking for. The man could use a transformation magic not unlike that of Elfman's Beast Soul, even though they'd been told the man they were looking for could not use magic. Luckily the job description had said "dead or alive" in the capture of the criminal because after the fight he had with Natsu, Lucy heard that there was no chance that man had survived.

She wasn't entirely sure if she'd been hit by or stepped on or what the man had done to her that caused her injuries, but honestly, she didn't want to. She couldn't count the number of broken bones she had on her hands or toes. Her skull had cracked, although luckily it hadn't been too serious and would heal over time. She'd been impaled by a stick, whether one the creature was holding or one from a nearby tree that she'd been thrown onto, she didn't know. It'd pierced one of her lungs, breaking off inside of her and splintering into shards that perforated and tore some of her other nearby organs, including a few larger pieces of wood lodging themselves into her heart. She'd been told her internal bleeding wouldn't stop, only healed by Wendy's magic. She'd also been told she'd needed several blood transfusions, receiving the blood from those at the guild who were more than willing to give it to her.

She'd never been more grateful to her guildmates, and with tears streaming down her face she'd thanked them. They'd told her it was no big deal and that she was family, the least they could do was help her out in her time of need.

She'd been told that the chances of her dying that night had been high, and that in some respects, it was a miracle she'd survived. It seemed like such a distant scenario in which she wouldn't make it. She'd been unconscious for two and a half days after the incident, and completely out through all the hustle and bustle of getting her fixed up.

When she'd awoken, she'd been in immense pain, a headache unlike any other throbbing in her temples and the rest of her body aching as if she were being crushed under a gigantic weight. However, not once had she ever felt like she wouldn't make it.

Once she awoke and pain meds were given to her, everything started to feel clearer, and she was able to actually open her eyes and begin trying to piece together what had happened. Natsu and Levy were on either side of her bed when she was first able to see the room clearly, Levy clutching onto her right hand in a death grip –she was really glad she hadn't had any broken bones in that hand- and Natsu to her left, his arms crossed on her bed, his chin resting on his wrist as he looked at her with eyes as piercing as wild cat's. Her left hand was placed on top of his elbow closest to her, and there wasn't a doubt in her mind that he'd put it there.

From there, everything surprisingly seemed to go by in a blur. Everyone visited her every day, bringing small gifts or something for her to keep her mind occupied with as she healed. Her humor and her "feistiness" as Gray joked when she snapped at him for his sarcastic comment of "how fashionable her casts looked" came back within the day. That fact in and of itself seemed to relieve all of those around her. That she was still the same Lucy, albeit bruised and battered.

As the people came and went, telling her stories of the jobs they'd gone on and what else was new in the world, one thing stayed constant: Natsu stayed at her side, never moving and as loyal as a dog to its master. She'd told him he could go, that he was probably going insane being cooped up in such a tiny place, but he shook his head, immediately throwing away any ideas of him leaving her side.

She was in the infirmary for around three months before she was allowed to try and get out of bed. Wendy had offered to speed up the healing process but Lucy had declined, knowing how much energy that would take out of her. Besides, this was probably an experience she needed to go through.

Maybe it was silly but throughout those three months she had to admit the one thing she couldn't stop thinking about was Natsu's short little confession before she'd been knocked out. Of all the things she could've been thinking about, that was the one that was most prominent. She felt stupid for being so hung-up on something that now seemed a little trivial, but she was.

And she'd be damned if over those three months sitting not but two feet away from Natsu, if she'd once gotten up the courage to ask him about it. What a wuss. She berated herself on the inside, trying not to let it show.

Despite her optimistic attitude on the situation, Natsu's seemed to have changed. He didn't smile hardly at all anymore, his tone was almost always serious or concerned, and he seemed almost… panicked whenever he had to leave her side, even if it was only to go and get something to eat.

She would shift just slightly in her bed and he'd shoot up straight as a board, a million questions pouring out of his mouth as to what was wrong and what he could do to help. At first she was shocked by his concern, but after a while she would find herself snorting as she held back a laugh, waving her hand and telling him to stop worrying about her so much.

He also apparently had the insatiable need to be touching her at all times. She hadn't realized it at first, but after the first few weeks it dawned upon her that he'd never been by her side when he hadn't been touching her. Whether her hand was on his arm or his fingertips were brushing against her hip, whatever it was, he was always touching her in some way, shape, or form.

She'd gotten a little bit of a kick out of it, making a small game of it to herself. She'd shift out from underneath his touch and watch as calmly he'd shift as well. She'd take her hand off of his arm when she was positive he was asleep and watch in bewilderment as his hand moved to cover hers. Whether he wasn't really asleep or it was some sort of natural impulse now, she wasn't sure, but it was sweet and amusing in its own way.

After those three months passed, she was helped to her feet by none other than Natsu, Mira's hands hovering around Lucy, ready to catch her if she fell. Everything was sore now. Not painful, just a slow ache.

All of her broken bones had healed, although it was still advised she go easy on them. Her more internal injuries were also healed according to those attending to her, although they'd kept her on bedrest for such a long time just to be safe.

She had to admit she'd been getting rather stir-crazy sitting there for so long and so even just being given the green light for getting up and beginning to go back and forth from her apartment to the guild was very welcome. She was told she should be able to start doing everything she used to do, aside from using magic and going on jobs. They told her to just be careful with it, move slowly, don't try to do anything that made her hurt. It seemed easy enough, and it was.

Within the next two weeks she felt as if she was completely back to her functioning self. She had a pep in her step, she went out with friends and socialized at the guild again. It felt wonderful to be back to normal.

Over those two weeks she also saw a change in Natsu. He didn't seem so serious anymore. He smiled again, and gave her those goofy laughs that she loved. He was slowly reverting back to his old self as well, and she was grateful. Lucy supposed he'd just been so serious because he didn't know if she was alright, but now, seeing her as she used to be, he was loosening up.

And he was. However, a few things stuck. Any slight mention of any pain she was having, even simply a headache, caused him to fret. He'd tell her he'd take her home and she should get some rest. Most of the time she would laugh it off and tell him she was fine, although sometimes he looked so dead worried she obliged him simply so he wouldn't get an ulcer worrying about her.

The other thing that stuck was his need to always be by her, or touching her. He didn't need to have contact with her skin twenty-four-seven like he did at first, but he _did_ apparently need twenty-four-seven surveillance of her. She started calling him her little shadow to herself because there was literally no time when he wasn't by her, or at least it seemed that way. He'd take the opportunities he'd get to have their hands brush each other when they walked, or his arm around her shoulder whenever he could, but he absolutely always had to be within earshot, or closer, to her.

He hadn't gone back to his house since the incident, nor had he gone on a job. He hovered around her in the guild and he walked her wherever she wanted to go. He continued sleeping in her bed and when she took a bath, or changed her clothes, she always saw his shadow underneath the crack of the door, and in asking what he was doing, found out that he sat in front of whatever door she was behind, waiting for her, in case she needed him.

She waited for the day when he began loosening the rope that seemed to be attached from her hip to his, but it didn't come. She waited for the day when he began getting restless and went on a job with someone else, but it never came. She waited for him to say something, ask her something, or bring up _anything_ that insinuated that things had changed. She was starting to feel as if she was crazy, and that he'd always been this close to her at all times. Because by the way he acted, this was simply how it'd always been.

Happy sometimes stayed with them and sometimes didn't. Honestly, Lucy wondered if Happy was enjoying staying at the guild so much as almost all of his free time was now spent with Carla. The cat was loyal, she'd give him that, because there wasn't ever a moment of hesitation or question when Natsu would say that "no, he'd miss out on the big party because it was too late and Lucy should be asleep" or "no, he didn't want to go on a job because Lucy couldn't go". Happy would nod, salute, and spout an, "Aye, sir!" without saying once that Lucy could come even though it was late, or that he and Natsu could go on a job alone and give Lucy some alone time.

It felt normal again, and yet in those ways it didn't.

She gradually began using her magic again, her spirits beyond worried for her well-being. Loke and Virgo had, a couple times, come through the gate of their own will to check on her, but the others hadn't been able to see her the entire time. They'd said they felt when she'd gotten attacked, her magic waning greatly before gradually building back up. It was surprisingly emotional reconnecting with them, even though they'd been at her hip the entire time.

Natsu watched, sitting a few yards away with his arms crossed and his eyes tracking every movement she made like a skilled predator. She practiced with her spirits, building up every day how much she used them until eventually she was back at full capacity. Her body, her mind, and now her magic were back to one hundred percent, and it felt great.

She was ready to begin her life again.

She'd heard that after having a traumatizing experience, it was sometimes hard to "get back on the horse". However, for magic and jobs, it didn't seem hard at all. She was nearly chomping at the bit to get back out there… She was also feeling a little rushed because she hadn't paid rent in months now, and while her landlady had waived some of the payments, Fairy Tail had chipped in and paid for the rest. She felt beyond guilty and wanted to get back to repaying them, and paying her own rent, as soon as possible.

However, Natsu had other ideas.

He refused to go on any job that was worth anything. Lucy was positive he had given her a list of excuses about a mile long every time she went to the job board to pick one out, and he didn't like her decision. He was alright with the fluff ones. Working as waiters at a restaurant, helping a family move, setting up the Magnolia Fair's rides, herding in cattle and sheep for the winter. No matter what job he finally okayed, it was absolutely pitiful. No real magic was used on any of the jobs, and even after going on ten of them she could hardly cough up even half of her rent.

She wasn't stupid, she knew he was worried about her safety, but it was frustrating. Every time she tried to bring it up, to talk to him and reassure him that she was fine, and that they could start going out on real missions with Gray and Erza again, he'd do something to derail the conversation immediately.

Hell, now that she thought of it, even when they went on the small jobs he did most of the work. She'd lift a crate and he'd come by, quickly whisking it out of her hands and asking her where he should put it. He'd tell her to "stand back and watch this" as if he were about to do something amazing, and then quickly finish the job as if that was the feat he wanted her to see.

It was getting downright maddening, somehow not being able to do anything even in the jobs he was okay with.

He wouldn't talk with her about it, and she didn't have the heart to do something sneaky, for example getting him distracted and quickly sneaking out on a job on her own. She would've done that by now had she not been worried he'd quite literally tear apart the entire town trying to find her, and the fact that she knew he'd be hurt if she tried something like that.

With a few deep breaths every morning she told herself that slowly he'd get over it, she just had to be patient and had to come up with yet another excuse for her landlady.

And so, she found herself yet again faced with him denying her any work one night, nearly seven months after her… "accident".

She'd tried to bring it up more subtly this time. She fluffed the sheets around her as she climbed into bed, watching Natsu stretch animatedly with a yawn out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, I saw this really cool job I'd like to go on, on the job board today," she said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"What was it?" He stretched again before flopping down on the bed next to her. She had to stifle a groan. He took up too much room, dammit. She'd gotten used to just shoving him out of her bed, but since the incident he now held onto the bed posts and would just flop right back in with her, refusing to leave her side at night.

"Over in Hargeon I guess they're hosting some royalty and they need two people to help stand guard by the king and queen," she trilled. It sounded so fantastical, like something straight out of a story book. Of course, the reason why they wanted the bodyguards was because they had reason to suspect that not one, but two groups of thieves were plotting to steal the crowns and assassinate the king and queen, but she decided to leave that part out. There was no way Natsu would agree to that.

"Huh," Natsu scratched his chin, sitting criss-cross next to her. "Is that the one that was requested by the prince of their nation because he was worried about his parents' safety?"

Lucy's eyes bugged slightly. Holy crap how did he know about the job? It was so new. Mira had just put it up at the end of the day… Although, nowadays Lucy didn't put it past Natsu to memorize all of the jobs so when she brought one up he could immediately assess the danger. With some effort she managed to not roll her eyes at the thought. "Yeah, that's the one." Hopefully he hadn't read too much about it. After all, standing as body guards all day wasn't dangerous… until the fact that they expected something to happen was added in.

Natsu shrugged. "Nah, that one doesn't sound good to me."

That was his new way of saying, "no, that one is too dangerous for you". She huffed. "Oh c'mon, Natsu. Don't you want to meet royalty?" She couldn't keep the awe out of her voice.

"Eh, doesn't really interest me," he yawned, rocking the entire bed as he flopped down and tried to get comfortable on the edge of her pillow.

She frowned deeply. "Natsu, I really want to go on that job."

"Pick another, I'm sure there's another one with some royalty somewhere… I mean, there's gotta be royal families all over, right?"

Lucy sincerely doubted it, but she didn't doubt that he believed it. Nevertheless, she wanted _this_ job. In all reality it wasn't the job that was so important, she just really wanted to win one of these discussions over what job to pick out. They were a team, right? She should get some say in it too.

She steeled her features. She'd keep with it, even if he was being stubborn. "I'm gonna make you sleep on the floor if you don't agree to go."

He raised an eyebrow at her as the corners of his mouth turned upward toward a smile. He didn't say a word, something she took as a silent challenge. Fine, if it was a challenge he wanted.

"Fine then," she huffed, and with a heave, she shoved her hands underneath him and promptly flipped him right out of her bed. Well, that's what she'd meant to do anyway, instead he'd grabbed onto the top bedpost and curled his foot around the bottom one so he rolled a little, but then came bungeeing right back to how he'd been originally, a triumphant little grin on his face.

Lucy growled. "Fine, whatever," she huffed, flopping down angrily on the bed and turning to face the wall. He could stare at her back all night for all she cared. "I'm going on that job though," she added, just to spite him. "With or without you." She wasn't entirely sure if she meant it. Honestly, it was just to ruffle his feathers like he'd ruffled hers.

There was a prolonged silence and part of her began to wonder if he'd actually given up. Maybe he would go on the job with her after all. But sure enough, after the silence had lasted about thirty seconds, she heard him grunt. "Luce, please don't."

His beg had sounded much more sad than she'd expected. She'd waited for him to say "I won't let you" or "you're not going without me" or "how about this other job I found" or something, just not… a plea. It threw her off and she slowly rolled back over, peering over her shoulder to find he'd sat back up again, his eyebrows knitted in concern as he looked down at her. "Natsu, it's just a job. We would've gone on it in a heartbeat before… y'know… Before I got hurt."

Natsu looked off to the side, letting out a sigh but not uttering a word. He wasn't giving her some silent treatment and he wasn't mad; she sensed he was just… well, he didn't know how to put into words what he was feeling. And honestly, she wasn't entirely sure what he was feeling, either.

"C'mon, I'm just as strong as I was back then. And yeah, I'm sure we'll be in danger, but we always have been. We've gone on some crazy jobs, Natsu." She let out a laugh as her mind traveled back to their Lullaby job, when they'd encountered Nirvana, or when they'd traveled to the Tower of Heaven after Erza. They always seemed to get in some sort of pinch that it seemed they couldn't get out of, but they did. That was the important part. They always got out of it. "I'm not some fragile piece of glass that you need to make sure doesn't shatter, Natsu. I'm the same Lucy I was back then, and I have your back just as much now as I ever had. I'm a little out of habit when it comes to jobs, but I'm sure it's just like riding a bike." She offered him a smile as he turned to look at her again.

His eyes searched her features and she kept the smile steadfast. "But you _are_ breakable," he muttered.

He wasn't wrong, but he was also overreacting. "Just as much as you are, or Erza is, or any of our other guildmates."

He gritted his teeth. "You could've died back then."

"But I didn't."

"But you could have-"

_"But I didn't."_

His eyes flicked back and forth to both of hers, the intensity rising within him as she saw his pupils narrow. "I couldn't protect you back then," he snapped. "So what makes you think I can protect you any better now?" His tone was surprisingly harsh, although she now could place exactly why.

He was angry with himself. She'd guessed as much, but she hadn't apparently realized the extent of it. He felt guilty because he'd been sitting right next to her when she'd been attacked. He'd been so close and yet she'd gotten gravely injured. It was like Natsu to want to protect everyone he loved, although she felt as if sometimes his need to shelter her was far superior to any of the others.

He was staying so close to her now because he was afraid of something happening again, and it seemed as if this time, he was determined to scout out whatever would put her in danger, and ward it off. It bothered him that he'd been there and yet it'd still happened. Had she gotten hurt when he was even probably across camp from where she was, she doubted he'd be this clingy and determined to keep her out of harm's way.

She knew there wasn't anything she could say to make him feel better. Sometimes there were things that people simply had to work through on their own and on their own time. But that didn't mean she wouldn't try to help.

"While I do appreciate what you, and others, do to try and help me when I need it on jobs, I can hold my own. Really, I can. Maybe the situation seems dire, but I can pull through it just like you can. You amaze me every day with what you can handle, and go above and beyond my expectations for what you can overcome… And I can do the same, Natsu; you just have to give me the chance." She sighed as his eyes turned from poignant to sad. "Plus, that incident before was a real fluke. I mean, it sounded as if everyone in the guild was surprised about it, and that we didn't hear him sneaking up on us. It was just some crazy thing that happened. And those things _will_ happen, but we can't worry about the worst case scenario all the time or we won't ever move on."

Natsu's gaze trailed to the comforter as he twirled a fraying string around his finger. She could tell her words were doing exactly what she'd expected them to. They weren't really helping him, but they were calming him down at least.

She stared helplessly at the clearly complexed and frustrated boy in front of her with her own feeling of angst tearing at her. He just needed to know she was just as strong as anyone else. That yes, she had gotten broken once, but it wouldn't happen again.

She reached out, her hand slightly shaking as she cupped his face in her palm. He looked up to her quickly, his eyes wide and full of a new type of surprise. She gave him a reassuring smile and gently brushed her thumb across his cheek. "Really, I promise I'll be alright."

His mouth hung open slightly, as if he was half between saying something and deciding not to. His own hand reached up, touching the back of hers on his cheek gently, as if he were afraid even the slightest wrong movement would hurt her.

And that was when it hit her. Not only had he been fixated on always touching her, or always being near her, but when he did… he was painfully gentle. She hadn't really realized it until now, but going back over the months and months of being right next to him, she couldn't place a single time he'd actually held her hand, or fully rested the weight of his arm on her shoulders. She'd said originally that she wasn't a piece of fragile glass, and now, she realized that perhaps she'd been startlingly close to what was bothering him.

Maybe he was literally physically afraid that she would fracture. As if she was now a doll all glued back together with many fault lines that were weaker than before. As if touching the wrong spot on her body would cause her to shatter into a million pieces.

She pulled her hand away from his face, steeling her features and not fully thinking through what she was about to say and do, simply because she was afraid she'd chicken out and not go through with it.

Over the past seven months she hadn't once brought up his confession of love right before she'd been attacked. It'd been on her mind nonstop, but not once had they talked about it. That was about to end right here and now.

He seemed slightly surprised by her sudden look of determination.

"Natsu, what you said on the night when we were camping out, right before the fugitive made it to us… was that true?" After she got the words out, her mouth clamped shut as if her jaw had been wired. She couldn't believe she'd actually asked it.

His expression went from surprised, to confused, to a slow realization, and then a deep embarrassment. She swore his cheeks were red all the way to his ears as his eyes flitted around the room uncontrollably and he somehow managed one slight nod.

Good. That's all she'd needed. She just needed to make sure he hadn't been kidding or something when he'd said that. Now she could go through with her plan… Mavis help her.

She lunged forward without warning, closing her eyes so she couldn't see Natsu's expression as she nearly landed in his lap, her hands combing into his hair and her lips crushing against his. If he thought she was fragile, then there was no way she could do something like this. She'd show him just how durable she was by –hopefully- giving him the kiss of a lifetime. She'd never been one to be so bold, but she had to admit it was a little invigorating.

She nearly knocked him off the bed, his hands flailing as he once again managed to catch ahold of the bedpost to keep himself upright, his other arm wrapping around her waist to keep her steady. However, his lips didn't move in the slightest. She waited for him to join in, but he remained as still as a statue, his grip on her waist immediately lightening to a touch as light as a feather. He was still quite literally afraid she would break. It was beyond frustrating.

She pulled away enough to whisper, "Natsu, I'm fine. I'll be fine," against his lips before pressing hers to cover them once again. She could feel the change in his body, almost as if she could hear his thoughts as he tried to process through what was happening and weigh the pros with the cons and also his worries as to how she'd fare if he dared to touch her with any pressure at all.

His spine relaxed slowly, the arm around her waist hesitantly grabbing a little tighter and into a comfortable embrace. She felt him let go of the bedpost, his hand hovering over her for a moment before carefully and ever-so-slowly weaving into her hair.

She tightened her own grip of his hair and heard a low, rumbly, and almost unnatural sound grumble up from deep in his chest, to his throat, and finally she felt him let go. His mouth loosened, finally reacting to hers as he began to kiss her back, cautiously at first, but steadily becoming more and more impatient.

She'd thought through what her first kiss with Natsu would be like, although she hadn't ever thought it'd be her, trying to somehow get him to stop being so hard on himself. But then again, nothing was ever by the books with Natsu, and she wouldn't want to have it any other way.

Suddenly the Natsu she'd pictured kissing shuddered to life. His arm around her waist clamped her to his chest hard, his hand in her hair tugging and pulling before pushing her head towards his own, as if he couldn't get close enough to her. The rumbly growl she'd heard before continued quietly as he nipped at her bottom lip, desperately trying to get his lips to feel every inch of hers at once.

He growled slightly again, breaking their kiss and leaving her breathless and a little shocked by how well her plan had seemingly worked, his mouth trailed to her jawline, his teeth dragging across her skin as he kissed his way down to her neck.

She bit her cheek as he sucked roughly at her skin. There was no way that wasn't leaving a hickey. This was more what she'd pictured of him, of a man who was so closely related to dragons.

Somehow she managed to reign in her thoughts enough to process that her plan had worked. This was what she'd been shooting for. He wasn't treating her like some breakable figure, he was treating her like a human being. She swallowed, trying to steady her pounding heart as she let herself smile. "If I were breakable, could I really withstand this?" She hoped her words hadn't slurred. Her head was spinning as it was just from the thought of actually being kissed by Natsu, the one she'd been in love with for what felt like forever.

Natsu stilled, his mouth hovering centimeters above her skin and his warm breath coming in small puffs. Uh oh, had she reminded him? Should she have said it differently or waited a little longer? Luckily, before she could begin to stress too much over it, he grunted again, not exactly answering her question as he again began kissing her neck, slowly moving to her shoulder.

No, he hadn't answered her, but she knew she'd somehow done the right thing in helping him forgive himself a little, and to help convince him she was just the same as she was before.


	19. Dating 101: By Gray Fullbuster and Gajeel Redfox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Natsu receives dating advice from two of the least likely candidates: Gray and Gajeel. Although, seriously, he'd never asked for it in the first place.

"I can't believe you actually got a date."

Natsu flinched as the voice that he considered to sound like nails on a chalkboard joined him. He glared as Gray plopped down on the bench beside him, resting his elbows on the table. Natsu had been in his own little world of thoughts and had hoped it would stay that way. At least… he'd hoped that _this_ glacier-sized idiot wouldn't join him.

Yes, he had a date with Lucy. Yes, it was not only his first date with her but his first date… ever. And yes, he was practically shaking in his boots. He had no idea why. Nerves weren't familiar to him. He never became nervous even in the most terrifying of situations; it just wasn't who he was.

"Oh yeah, what's so hard to believe about it?" Natsu ground out.

Unsurprisingly, Gray was followed by his little shadow, also known as Juvia, who happily sat down across the table from them. She seemed interested, although her eyes were glued on Gray.

"Everything," Gray snorted, not paying Juvia an ounce of attention. "I can't believe she actually agreed to go out with you." Natsu narrowed his eyes, the familiar burning flames boiling in the pit of his stomach as Gray choked out a forced laugh. It wasn't _that_ farfetched that he'd have a date. Hell, he was probably a catch.

Natsu puffed out his chest. "Well that just shows how much you know," he crowed. "She was the one to ask me out, so there." He raised an eyebrow. That'd teach the Ice Bastard to underestimate him.

However, that didn't go over as he'd planned. Instead, Gray burst out into a real fit of laughter, banging the table with his fist. "Oh my god. Dude, that's so lame! You didn't even have the balls to ask her out yourself." He cackled away and Natsu slouched again. He hadn't thought of it like that.

Juvia took in a tiny gasp of air from across the table, clasping her hands together. "Lucy-san," she whispered, "So bold!"

"Oy, it's not funny," Natsu snapped at Gray, throwing a half-hearted punch his way. Gray ducked, wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye and shaking his head.

"Yeah, it kinda is. But hey man, I'm happy for ya, I guess." He shook his head. "Poor girl probably doesn't know what she's signed herself up for."

Those flames of annoyance in Natsu's stomach boiled hotter, but before he could come up with a taunt or a comeback, the entire table shook as yet another person joined their little powwow. Natsu warily watched as Gajeel sat down across from him, chewing away on a few nails and pointing a finger at Natsu with a rather bewildered expression.

So much for getting some time with his own thoughts before his date, which he _definitely_ wasn't prepared for.

"Wait, so you got a date?" Gajeel asked, sounding far more shocked than he should have.

"Don't listen in on other people's conversations," Natsu snapped. "It's rude."

"Since when do you have the authority to preach about being rude?" Gray snorted. Natsu tried his best to ignore him.

Gajeel nodded slowly, as if he were truly impressed. He swallowed the metal before holding out a fist. "Never thought I'd say this, Salamander, but 'atta boy." He let out a 'gihi', unfazed when Natsu didn't give him his fist bump. He lowered his arm, sighing. "If ya need any advice, feel free to ask."

Gray snorted again. "You're not any more qualified to give out advice on dating as Flame Brain here is qualified to talk about others being rude." Gray slapped Natsu on the back like he'd just given him a compliment.

Natsu gave him another glare, trying to concentrate the hatred in his gaze onto one tiny spot on Gray's forehead. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough it'd spontaneously combust. That'd be one way to cut this sort of humiliating conversation short. Really, he just wanted some time alone; did no one get that?

"I'm offended," Gajeel feigned being hurt. "I'm practically the only one people should be goin' to for advice nowadays, because, last time I checked I was the only one at this table in a steady relationship." He smirked at Gray, jabbing a thumb at himself and looking strikingly like a proud peacock.

Natsu would've sworn before today that he never would've heard Gajeel say the term 'steady relationship', but the fact was, he wasn't lying.

Juvia gasped again, a little louder this time. "I knew it," she whispered to herself as if she'd been doubting Gajeel and Levy had actually been going out.

It was rather new news, but the truth was that Gajeel actually did have a girlfriend. Natsu would've never, _ever_ , considered asking Gajeel for advice before today, but he found himself actually considering it. He was so nervous he was positive he'd make a fool of himself, and that was the one thing he absolutely didn't want to do. He wasn't the type to go on dates. He wasn't the type to sit at a table and talk and eat fancy food. That just wasn't who he was. And so the thought of trying to impress Lucy while completely out of his element… well… He was really worried that Gray was right, and maybe Lucy would regret asking him out in the first place. He had one chance to get it right, and while he didn't know if Gajeel had any answers, he was sort of willing to try.

"Hey, you're not the only one with a girlfriend," Gray snapped, sounding offended.

"Oh really," Gajeel mused. "So who else here isn't single?" He held a hand up over his eyebrows and squinted, pretending to search far and wide. "Because I don't see anyone. Unless we're talking about this one here," he added, jabbing a finger at Natsu, "and it's still yet to be determined if he's coming back single or not tonight."

Gray huffed. "I've got… y'know… Juvia," he said, making a face as if he wasn't sure whether he should've said it or not. Gray and Juvia weren't dating, Natsu knew that for a fact. Gray was just trying to sound a little less lame. However, Juvia apparently took it very seriously.

Her entire face went beet red and Natsu swore he saw a puff of steam float into the air above her. She smacked her hands to her cheeks, looking straight down at the table with eyes the size of saucers. "G-Gray-sama… So bold," she whispered and Natsu began to wonder if it was possible for someone to turn into a humanoid tomato, what with her face as red as it was.

Gajeel rolled his eyes, deciding against saying anything as a comeback to Gray's remark. "Just sayin' Salamander, you don't look like the type that's gone on many dates."

"Or _any_ dates," Gray smirked.

Natsu shot him another glare that he hoped would make his head explode before tearing his eyes away and down to the table. He fumbled with his fingers. "I mean no, I haven't, but that's by choice y'know," he snapped defensively.

Gray sighed. "Just when I think you can't get any more sad." With a thunk he set his elbow on the table, turning to Natsu with a hand on his fist. "Fine, if you need advice, just ask."

Psht, like he wanted to ask a snowman for dating advice. Although… Gray unfortunately did seem like the type to have had his fair share of dates… Actually, if there was anyone at the table that Natsu _did_ want to have a little input on what he should do, it was Juvia. Although, asking her was out of the question as she seemed to now be in her own little world, most likely daydreaming of tiny water mages that looked like Gray running around her backyard, also known as those two's offspring, which was honestly sort of a terrifying mental image, at least for Natsu.

He shook his head to rid it of the thoughts. "I dunno," he sighed. "I just don't wanna make a fool of myself."

"Hah, good luck with that," Gray added. Well, so much for him being civil for more than two seconds.

However, surprisingly, Gajeel didn't make fun, instead completely ignoring Natsu's comment and asking a question of his own. "Where're you two goin', anyway?"

Natsu shrugged. "She said she had a place all picked out for dinner. Never heard of it before. It's called like Magnolia Bay or something."

"Aw man are you serious?" Gray asked, chuckling. "You just failed before you started, bro."

Natsu's eyes bugged. "Wh-What?! What'd I do wrong?" He looked back and forth from Gray to Gajeel with panic. Crap, what had he done?

"She picked the location. That's your job. Taking a girl out on a date is like…" Gray moved his hands around as he tried to find the right words. "You're supposed to make it a nice night for her. You pick out the place, you show her a good time, y'know, all that stuff. If she picked it out it's like she's the man and you're the woman," Gray snorted.

Natsu paled, collapsing in a heap on the table. Was he doomed before he even went? He'd never heard of the guy leading… well… he had heard something like that but he swore it was about dancing. Was Lucy annoyed that she had to pick out the place? She hadn't really seemed it. When she asked him out she sort of just blurted out the place and time where they'd meet after he said yes and then scampered off. He hadn't seen her since. Granted it'd only been a couple hours, but still.

"I dunno," Gajeel mused. "Maybe it's better that way. This way it's somewhere she wants to go and this one," he said, again pointing at Natsu, "doesn't have the chance that he screws up and takes her someplace she doesn't like."

Natsu shot up in his seat, looking hopeful. Ooh, that was true. He wasn't entirely sure what Lucy wanted out of a date. She was high-class, he knew that, coming from the family she had, and he definitely wasn't, so he probably would've taken her someplace much underneath her standards… Plus, he hadn't been out to a restaurant in longer than he could remember. All of his meals either came from his own hands or from Mira.

Gray bobbed his head as if he were pondering the possibility. "True, maybe it isn't all failure in that respect."

"That aside," Gajeel grunted. "Do you even know what to do on a date?"

Natsu stared blankly at him. "W-Well we eat, right?"

Both Gajeel and Gray simultaneously smacked hands to their foreheads with a groan. "He's hopeless," Gray sighed.

"Hey, I am not!" Natsu snapped back. "If you know so much then enlighten me."

"Well, you open the door for 'er," Gajeel noted.

Gray nodded. "And you pull out her chair for her."

Natsu braced himself. He'd never heard anything about doing those two things on a date before. Granted, he hadn't heard anything about what to do on dates, period, but still. Alright, so he'd open the door and pull out her chair? Did he push it back in, then? Did he let her sit down in it before he pushed it back in? He had no idea, but the list kept going and he didn't get a chance to ask.

"You make sure and ask 'er questions. Don't let her be the one to do all the conversation."

"And pay for the meal. Even if she offers, decline and pay for the bill."

"Give her your jacket if she gets cold after you leave."

"Walk her home."

"Hold her hand if it seems right."

"Compliment her on what she's wearing."

"If you had a nice time say you did and you'd like to do it again, but don't pressure her into answering right away."

"Don't get drunk. That sounds obvious, but it just sounds like something you'd do."

"Girls like guys who are polite but also take charge."

"Yeah. Girls also like it when you make them laugh, so be funny, but not obnoxious."

"Girls like guys that are tall, too."

Natsu held up his hands, somehow feeling worn out just from hearing all the suggestions. "Alright, alright, I get it." He wasn't sure whether he was getting good input and information or if it was making it worst, being bombarded with all the 'dos' and 'don'ts' of dating. He really needed more time to prepare for this. He sort of wished Lucy had scheduled it for the next day or just… not now. He was way too overwhelmed. He took a deep breath. "I'll just… I'll try to do all those things… Although I seriously doubt I can make myself taller," he said, shooting a look at Gajeel. Of course he'd say something about being tall; that guy was practically a giant.

Gajeel shrugged, looking rather smug.

Natsu was sure he could remember at least a few of them, and hoped he could carry them all out. He'd have to go and get something to pay with from his house, though. Whether or not he'd pay honestly hadn't ever crossed his mind. Now that he thought about it, Lucy sort of paid for everything while they were out doing things. Granted she got most of the reward money because A- she needed it for rent and B- he didn't really care about money and who got it as long as he got to complete a job, but maybe from now on he'd try to pay for a little more of his own stuff, and hers for that matter.

"But hey, man, just be yourself. If she asked you out she obviously sees something in you that she likes. Although, goodness only knows what," Gray said, shaking his head as if he were truly baffled.

Natsu completely brushed over the insult, instead taking a deep breath and standing from the bench. He had a while before the date and he figured he needed every minute of it to get ready. Although, perhaps Gray was right. Maybe Lucy really did like him for who he was. Well, he knew she did, but maybe she liked him in a more romantic way because of that too. He couldn't help the rather goofy grin on his face.

Now he just needed to prepare himself, and try to remember what they'd told him.

 

**0=0=0=0=0=0**

 

Lucy looked him up and down, smiling to herself as Natsu came trotting towards her, hands in his pockets. He'd actually dressed up for it; she hadn't expected that. She'd picked a rather middle-of-the-road restaurant so it would've been okay had he worn his normal vest, or if he dressed in a tux. She considered herself to have been rather clever in picking something that had such a broad spectrum of customers.

Although, there was something a little different about him. She wasn't sure what. Maybe it was that he was actually dressed in something akin to a formal suit, or maybe it was because he had the hair that was normally in his face all slicked back… or maybe it was because he greeted her with a 'good evening', but something was definitely different.

No, it wasn't anything like that. He still felt like the same Natsu but something just seemed different… Her eyes trailed downward and she squinted. Wait… he seemed taller…

She raised an eyebrow. "Natsu… are you wearing lifts?"


	20. Got It in the Bag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~In which Natsu carries out a dare and is determined to "bag" Lucy Heartfilia. Now, if he only knew what that meant.~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Highschool!AU)

Natsu knew that sometimes he could be a little… uninformed. He wasn't stupid or slow, he was just… uninformed. That was really the only way he could describe it.

He'd been told he was so trusting and happy-go-lucky that sometimes it would come back to hurt him, and it had. People would pull the wool over his eyes, take advantage of his good-natured obliviousness, and in the end, something always went awry. But then again, he couldn't help it. It was who he was down to his core, and he couldn't even think of changing. Because he didn't want to become cold-hearted, and in a world where when he met people and didn't immediately smile and trust them… Well, he just didn't want to live in such a world.

So he'd embraced who he was, but that also meant that yes, his uninformedness would continue.

One of the things he had a particularly hard time with was "sayings". All the new ones were hard to keep up with and quite honestly he didn't care about staying caught up with the lingo, so he didn't worry about it too much. Although, sometimes it did make for some confusing conversations.

Maybe it was because he was raised by himself and hadn't met many other children his age until he was a bit older, so he wasn't ever up-to-date with things, or maybe it was just because he didn't pay attention a lot of times. But whatever it was, those "sayings" were usually the things that got him.

It was harmless enough. He thought "spooning" with someone meant sharing the same spoon to eat. He thought "being in the doghouse" was meant to be taken literally, and once had almost called the cops because Cana's parents had put her in the doghouse for going out drinking one night and he seriously thought that that bordered on child abuse. He was also still under the impression that "thongs" were flip-flops. Little things like that were what got him. And while yes, others usually had a laugh at his expense, he usually ended up laughing with them too, and the whole thing blew over quickly.

So no, it didn't come as a surprise to him when yet another phrase came up that he wasn't familiar with. He'd been enjoying his lunch, sitting with his friends and minding his own business when somehow something escalated to a dare. Maybe he'd agreed a little too vigorously when Loke had mentioned how attractive Lucy looked today in those short shorts she was wearing, or maybe he'd laughed a little too hard when Gray said he could get any girl that he wanted –even Lucy- and Gajeel had snorted and said 'in his dreams'. Either way, Gray was now determined to challenge Natsu.

If he remembered right, Gray's exact words were: "Oh yeah? So you think getting a girl like her would be easier for you? Alright then. I dare you to bag Lucy Heartfilia in the next twenty four hours. You win, you obviously get to date her which is reward enough, but hey I'll be your slave for a day just to top it off. You lose… you're _my_ slave for a day."

Unfortunately, another flaw Natsu had was that he absolutely couldn't resist a dare, especially when proposed by Gray. So he'd agreed and the deal was on.

It sounded like a win-win situation for him. Lucy Heartfilia, arguably the most attractive girl in the entire school, and also the girl he'd been not-so-secretly crushing on for the past two years, wouldn't be easy to get, but he truly believed if anyone could do it, he could. Why? He wasn't entirely sure. Maybe it was because they were sort of friends after being forced to work together in planning a track meet "after party" of sorts, the past year, but he considered himself… at least a little close to her.

She was, in his mind anyway, the perfect woman, and while he'd been too nervous to ask her out, and a little worried about ruining whatever little "friendship" they did have if she said no, he'd stayed quiet until now. This would give him the chance to catch her eye again. She still laughed at his stupid jokes he made in the one class they had together… Granted most of the class laughed, but still, she partook.

And hell, on top of that, Gray would be his slave for a day?! Did his birthday come early this year? Immediately a list about a mile long popped into his head. It'd be sweet, sweet, victory.

The only problem? Natsu had no idea what it meant to "bag" a girl.

Reading how the conversation had been going he'd expected Gray to challenge him to get Lucy to be his girlfriend. But instead he'd said to "bag" her. What the hell did that mean?

Unfortunately, he had too much pride to ask what it meant after already agreeing to the bet, so he was absolutely alone and in the dark to figure it out. He guessed he could ask someone else, but then again the only other two times he'd done that he'd either, A- gotten guffawed at because "everyone" knew what that meant –that's what he got for asking someone like Laxus- or B- he'd been told the wrong thing and wholeheartedly made more of a fool of himself than had he just come up with his own meaning.

So long story short, he wasn't asking anyone ever again. At least, that's what he'd vowed. So his job was to find out what it meant.

He would've used the second best thing to asking someone in person: the internet, but just as before, he'd ended up apparently reading a false definition and once again he played the fool. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

He stared at the ceiling in his bed that night, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he reasoned it out. Bag… Bag… Maybe like letting the cat out of the bag? That'd been one he had to look up to find out what it meant. Maybe confessing could be considered letting the cat out of the bag? No, Gray probably would've just said that instead, had that been what he meant.

Or maybe he was supposed to buy her a bag? She already had a really nice one; he doubted she needed another or that Gray was _that_ concerned about what type of purse she was carrying.

Ooh, but maybe he wasn't far off. Everyone at school had some sort of bag that they carried their textbooks and other things to and from home in… Actually, it'd make a lot of sense if that was the bag he was referring to.

Alright, so if that was the case, what could "bagging" someone mean? Gray had said it like it was common… What had he seen in the hallways that might be considered "bagging" someone…?

He ran over a couple of possibilities before he swore a gigantic lightbulb popped up above his head. He'd seen people do _that_ as a prank almost on a daily basis, usually to friends. Gray must've been referring to _that_ , since in order for her to not get mad, she would have to be close to the person who did it. Gray must've been challenging him to prove that he was actually friends with Lucy. Hah, he'd figured it out, and he'd win the bet tomorrow, sure thing.

The next day as the students filed in, chatter and yells filling the hallway as everyone rushed to their lockers to start the day, Natsu gathered the group with whom he'd sat at lunch the past day, and told them to watch as he carried out his side of the bet. Gray had looked so smug, crossing his arms and telling him he'd be watching.

And with the confidence of a proud eagle, Natsu took off in a sprint, straight towards an unsuspecting Lucy. He was positive he looked absolutely majestic as he took a leap over Levy, who was sitting below Lucy getting into her own locker, reaching out and very gracefully snatching Lucy's bag right out of her hands. He watched her eyes go wide in surprise as he took off with it, turning around and running backwards as he stuck his tongue out at her, waving her bag above his head as he continued down the hallway.

She stared at him for a moment, as if she wasn't entirely sure what had just happened before she shook her head, cracking a smile and playfully rolling her eyes.

When he was confident she wasn't mad, he took a look back at Gray, stuck his tongue out farther, flipped him off, and then turned around and ran full-blast down the rest of the hallway, skidding around the corner, and confident Lucy would come looking for her bag in a few moments.

He didn't hear the exasperated, "What the hell is that idiot doing?" from Gray, or the peals of laughter from his other friends as they got yet another kick out of one of his misunderstandings. "Did he seriously think that I dared him to do something as idiotically childish as that?"

Gajeel put a hand on Gray's shoulder, nodding to where Lucy was now jogging down the hallway, turning the corner at the end where Natsu disappeared. "You _do_ know he's probably gonna inadvertently get a date with her out of this, right? That dimwit just came off as a flirt without even meaning to."

Gray rolled his eyes. "Whatever. That doesn't count as winning the bet, though."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't ever write highschoolAUs so I'm sorry if this is weird lol. I just usually prefer more action/adventure AUs to write, though I am guilty of reading some high school fluff. ;3   
> Natsu getting false definitions on Urban Dictionary is one of my fave modern! headcanons of him though. heh.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! :D


	21. Detonation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~They are the only cure for one another, the only thing that can make the other cave, and the only one that means more to the other than life itself.~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A super random one. Not sure if I like how it turned out but ohwell.  
> I hope you enjoy! :D

Lucy was positive she'd never been this scared in her entire life. Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, almost as if it were trying to break free, her hands shaking at her sides no matter how much she willed them to stop. One moment she felt like she couldn't breathe, and the next, she was gasping in as much air as she could.

Magic was a scary thing, yes, but what was even scarier was sometimes something more "normal". Technology wasn't uncommon in Fiore, although usually the technology was powered by some sort of magic, to make a machine-magic-hybrid. She wasn't sure whether the cool metal pressing against her stomach, all the way up to her chest was powered by magic or not, but what she did know was that it was dangerous.

Bombs weren't uncommon either, although physical manifestations of bombs were. Usually a mage could fire off different "bombs", usually in the form of explosions, but to have that power harnessed inside of a metal casing, was quite out of the ordinary.

She'd gone off on a job on her own, something small and inside of Magnolia. The job request had been rather vague but from what it said, she knew it was in the ballpark of helping a local business transport some valuable goods to another location, in a town not far from Magnolia. It'd sounded easy enough.

The night she accepted the job, Makarov informed the business that had requested help that she would be arriving in the morning. And in the morning, as she woke up in her own bed, ready to set off on her new mission, she felt something heavy weighing down on her chest, and a light but foreign beeping sound ringing in her ears.

She hadn't been sure exactly what to think when she opened her eyes to see a casing of wires, metal, and flashing lights wrapped around her midsection. But what she did know, was that her heart had immediately dropped into her stomach, and a chilling sense of dread had overtaken her.

She didn't know what it was, or where it came from, and yet somehow she knew exactly what it meant. Maybe not the details, but she'd seen enough in books and heard enough in tales from other guild mates to deduct that this was… at least some sort of bomb. She had no idea how it worked, and found herself absolutely frozen stiff with fear.

Her eyes flicked around the room, trying to find something that could help her. Natsu and Happy, after hearing she was headed off on a job of her own, had also taken off on their own mission. It was the first night in more than she could count that she'd been alone in her apartment, without Natsu's annoying snoring and cover-stealing, and also… without his protection.

Her mind raced and eventually found some solace in the fact that she'd told Mira she'd drop by Fairy Tail to pick up the job request form before she left. No, she didn't have Natsu or Happy, or anyone else nearby, but she knew that eventually Mira, or the Master, would find it a little odd that she hadn't showed up, and she hoped to Mavis they'd come look for her.

She wasn't sure whether she was being overly cautious or not in staying completely still. She didn't see a timer of any sort strapped to her chest, the small beeping being the only sound coming from the machine, which in her mind, suggested that there wasn't a set time for this… _thing_ to go off. That was a little bit of a relief, but that also meant that there was a different kind of trigger to it. She wracked her brain and came up with two options: either the person who'd strapped the bomb to her had some sort of device that could set it off whenever they wanted, or perhaps it was a motion trigger.

She'd heard a story from Laxus about a job he'd gone on years ago to disarm a bomb attached to the mayor of a neighboring town. He'd of course embellished it, she was sure, and it also sounded rather braggy how he told it, but long story short, the bomb had been motion-activated, and the mayor had had to stay completely still to not set it off.

She didn't know if it was that type or not, but she sure as hell wasn't going to test it out.

Luckily, her suspicions had been right, and after what felt like an eternity of laying completely still, her nerves and fear slowly escalating, she heard a knock at her door. Sure enough, Mira had come to check on her, and after that, everything seemed to go by in a slow, muted blur.

Lucy remembered the sound of hushed and worried voices after Mira found her. The Master was called in, along with nearly everyone else in Fairy Tail, all trying to throw in their two cents to help. No one knew exactly how it worked, although once again Laxus shared the story Lucy had remembered, and with a thorough look-over, he said it looked quite similar to the one that'd been strapped to the mayor.

Lucy was then incredibly glad she hadn't tried to move. It'd only been a gut feeling, and also because she'd quite literally been paralyzed with fear at first, but she was grateful nonetheless.

Laxus said that if they were extremely careful, they should be able to move her somewhere else, and after what Lucy assumed was probably only just less than an hour, even though it felt like an eternity and a half, she found herself standing still as a statue in the middle of the guild hall, everyone looking at her and bustling around in an attempt to find some answers.

Her palms sweated and she found she couldn't keep her eyes focused on anything for long. She was slowly starting to panic, and while it was understandable, it was also the worst thing that could happen. She was positive her heart was moving enough to set it off, the thudding of it against her ribcage seemingly growing louder with every passing minute. She tried to calm herself down, tried to focus on anything except for the dread creeping down her spine and the hazy thoughts and memories shooting across her mind.

She didn't know if she was going to be alright or not, her life seemingly in limbo while still alive, and her panic seemingly triggering that life-ending moment of having her life flash before her eyes. Although, her head was such a cluttered mess she couldn't even make out one memory from another.

Levy had taken over the operation, doing what she did best and researching, trying to find an answer. Lucy was sure she wouldn't have felt safer in anyone else's hands, but it was little consolation in a situation like this.

Her thoughts slowed to a halt as she felt fingertips brush lightly against her shoulder.

"Lu-chan, I think I've found out a little more." Lucy blinked, her eyes clearing enough to see the worried face of her friend, glasses perched on her nose and a book in her hands. She whispered, as if just the sound of a voice could set the machine off. "I believe it is a motion-activated type, just like Laxus said," she began, speaking slowly and hesitantly. "There are very few books on this type of device, mainly because people opt out of creating such things, in favor of magic items."

Lucy blinked. So did that mean this thing wasn't powered by magic?

Levy seemed to read her mind. "This is an organically created device, most likely made by someone who can't even use magic. Which means that while it is going to have a more structured internal makeup and most likely be easier to deactivate than one created by magic, it also is most likely a little more…" Levy looked off to the side. "It's probably more dangerous, since a natural explosion as opposed to a magical one, is harder to defend against."

Lucy swallowed, slowly managing a slight nod. While that information definitely didn't help her edge away from the brink of panic, it did mean that there was something that could be done. Bombs created by magic users were probably harder to figure out. They might be programmed to truly only respond to the maker, or might have more complex internal workings, whereas this one should have certain ticks to get it to work.

Levy gave her a sympathetic smile. "I really think I can figure out to how disarm it. It just might take a little while, but hopefully not long. I think I have the books now that'll give us our answer in the end. So just… hang in there, okay?"

Before Lucy could even respond, it seemed another crisis had arisen.

"Keep him out!" Makarov hissed from his perch on the counter, pinching the bridge of his nose. The sudden yell startled Lucy, although her nerves were already on such high alert, she didn't physically jump. Her eyes flicked to everyone in the room as the hushed chatter grew louder again and everyone began to bustle around, as if they suddenly had a job to do.

What. What was happening? "Keep who out?" she managed to whisper to Levy who was now watching the door to the guild hall.

Levy looked back over her shoulder, forcing out a laugh. "That's right, you weren't here for that."

"Here for what?" With every word she felt herself flinch. She'd been told she could talk and that it shouldn't bother the device, although she felt as if she shouldn't. Who knew when something was just barely too much for it, and it went off.

Levy sighed. "About five years ago we had an incident like this one. The bomb was on Gildarts though, and it wasn't motion-activated, rather… I'm not entirely sure but I think it went off whenever someone tried to break it or get it off, or something of the like, so Gildarts couldn't exactly use his magic on it. Everyone was real careful, except for Natsu who was apparently completely oblivious to the danger of it and ran right in to try and pry it off." Levy shook her head, pressing two fingers to her temple and rubbing in circles. "He thinks force is always the answer. Anyway, we were all really lucky in the end and it turned out to be a fake, put there to scare us by a dark guild that had wanted to blackmail us in exchange for freeing Gildarts. So their plan didn't work, but had it been real… Well, let's just say Natsu probably wouldn't have ever gotten over it."

Lucy stared blankly for a moment before hazarding a slight nod. It did sound like Natsu. He just thought that something that couldn't be conquered by strength alone didn't exist. "Wait… so does the Master want to keep Natsu out? Isn't he on a job?"

Levy pursed her lips. "It wasn't a long one. He was expected back tonight, but apparently he finished it sooner. Unfortunately, I don't think this one is a fake, Lucy, so in learning from the past, we probably need to keep him out." She took a deep breath before giving a smile that seemed more genuine. "But don't worry; I'm gonna figure it out in no time." She gave a nod before quickly dashing back to her table covered with books and scrolls to again begin her research.

Man, Lucy'd thought she'd been quite unlucky to have this happen on the one night Natsu wasn't sleeping in her bed, but perhaps it'd been the luckiest break she'd ever had.

Before she had the chance to count her lucky stars, there was a loud bang on the guild doors, followed by an ever-familiar voice yelling his displeasure on not being let in. She swallowed, her heart fluttering with nerves again. Of course Natsu would be upset if he came back to find the doors locked. He probably didn't know what was going on yet, so it was understandable.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Erza stand, her features plastered stoic as she marched over to the front door, and quietly slipped out. Lucy assumed she was stepping out to inform Natsu of the situation. Ten to one if it was Erza who broke the news and the one to probably threatened him if he were to defy her and go inside, he would listen. And if he did, all she had to do was wait until Levy figured it out, and she'd be fine.

She closed her eyes taking a few slow and steady breaths. Yes, she'd be fine. She just had to wait a little longer.

_WHAM!_

Lucy's eyes shot open as a gunshot-like sound broke her from her thoughts. She wavered, her mind immediately waiting for the pain of the device around her midsection going off, wiping her off the face of the planet.

Instead, she was met with no pain, rather she saw shards of wood hurtling into the guild as the doors burst open, whatever lock they'd had in place now blown to bits. She flinched as she saw the familiar outline of her partner in the doorway, his head whipping back and forth as he scanned everyone, apparently looking for the bomb.

"Natsu!" Erza shouted from behind him, reaching out her hand and just missing his arm as he stormed inside. His nose twitched as he sniffed for the unfamiliar smell, trying to find the device that Erza had undoubtedly informed him of. It seemed everyone inside had no idea what to do, the guild oddly quiet as they all stood still, eyes wide as they watched and waited to see what Natsu was up to. Lucy could tell no one knew whether they should stop him or not, and honestly, she wasn't sure whether or not she wanted them to. She felt as if her life had suddenly been thrown into the air and into jeopardy, completely resting on the shoulders of her partner, whom she trusted with her life, but also knew fully how headstrong he could be.

His eyebrows were pinched in concentration as he sniffed and finally caught the scent of what he was looking for. He stepped a few paces farther, honing in on the smell. He was nearly standing but a few yards away from her, and as his eyes opened, meeting hers and then trailing down to the device strapped to her body, she swallowed, waiting for the outcome.

There were a couple long, but quiet seconds as he stared at the machine around her, almost as if he didn't comprehend what was happening. He blinked once before his eyes flickered up to hers, his entire stance and expression changing. He went pale, the blood draining from his face and his arms dropping limp at his sides. She saw something akin to dread flash across his eyes before he stepped forward, carefully.

She'd seen a lot of different emotions from Natsu, and how he reacted to them, but she'd never before seen anything like this. It looked as if he could barely force his feet forward, his entire body weak, his hands shaking at his sides just as hers were.

He reached her after a few long moments, the guild quiet enough to hear a pin drop, and all eyes focused on both of them. He stood still, his eyes still holding dread and now panic, and in a way, she wondered if her eyes reflected the same thing. He opened his mouth slowly, closing it and then opening it again. "Luce…"

His voice was hoarse, nearly cracking at the end as he swallowed. No, she'd definitely never seen him like this before, and part of her wondered if everyone else was so still was because they hadn't either. No, she didn't know what he was going to do, but she had the feeling that whatever it was, wouldn't be something put her in danger. Which was a great relief, although she couldn't help but be troubled by the look on his face.

Maybe he had learned from his mistake with Gildarts, or maybe he was surprised, she didn't know. Part of her hoped that it was because it was _her_ who was in danger, and in later days she'd find that it was a mix of all three, and more, that somehow seemingly sucked the very life out of Natsu as he looked at her that day.

He stepped a foot closer, his hands still shaking as he reached up and gently combed his fingers into her hair, his palms cupping her face. "A… Are you okay?" he asked in the same croaky whisper.

She was positive she'd never heard more emotion in a single sentence before, and doubted she'd ever hear it again.

It was interesting, in a way. She'd been steady, or at least close to it throughout the entire ordeal. She'd been trying to remain logical and edge herself away from panic. To keep assuring herself she'd be alright and that she was in good hands. She'd tried to keep her mind on keeping her body still, her heartbeat quiet, and her breathing shallow, and yet with that one sentence and the touch of his hands, she felt herself cave.

Hot tears sprung to her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. Her heart clenched in her chest, her mind still willing her body to stay as still as possible as she choked out her breaths, beginning to sob. The dread in his eyes morphed into worry and his thumbs brushed across her cheeks, wiping away her tears as fast as they came.

She was scared. She'd tried to deny it, or at least console herself that being scared in this type of situation was normal, but with him… she simply gave into it. She was terrified, but now he was there. Her hands stopped shaking and the panic gripping at her subsided entirely, replaced instead by a feeling akin to relief, mixed with her fear, and yet consoled by his presence.

She let go entirely, a voice somewhere deep inside her head wondering why on earth she was collapsing like this. She hadn't expected it, and yet she knew he was the only person who could make her feel safe in the most challenging of situations, while also forcing her to let out her true feelings, all with only a touch and a few words. He was the only one who could've made her feel like this, relieved and at home, while also cripplingly insecure and frightened.

Her eyes were so blurry she couldn't see his expression anymore, although she assumed he probably still looked worried. The entire world seemed to go still and quiet as he continued to brush away her tears, carefully moving in and wrapping her in a tight, yet careful hug. He didn't move an inch from that spot for however long it took for Levy to finally figure out the answer, and to carefully disarm the bomb.

Lucy had no idea how long it took, but he didn't move a muscle. Even after the machine had been removed from her, her arms then snaking around his body and her face burying in his chest as a new round of tears came to her, he didn't move, staying still as he comforted her in a way she was positive no one else could.

Because in the end, no matter how outrageous he could be, and how headstrong and foolhardy he was, he cared about her. He cared about her and he _knew_ her even when she wasn't sure she knew what to do herself. But he always did, and he'd step in, giving her exactly what she needed, and wordlessly letting her know that she meant the world to him.


	22. Real Smooth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~In which Natsu has a drink that's definitely too strong for him, but he'll be dipped if he'll let Lucy see that he's anything less than invincible.~

It was sort of a bummer whenever Lucy hadn't gone to bed before he arrived at her window. Granted, it'd only happened probably two or three times since he'd met her but still, it always bummed him out. He liked her bed –it was probably the most comfortable thing in the world- but what made it so comfortable was her presence. And sleeping in it while waiting for her to come back to her apartment was just… not the same.

Natsu frowned as he peered through the glass to find her bed empty and untouched, his toes clenched as he wavered on the windowsill. He'd been out on a solo job for the past two days and had really been looking forward to coming back and sawing some z's with his partner next to him. However, she wasn't home, which prompted him to wonder whether or not perhaps she was out on a job of her own.

It wasn't uncommon for them to go on missions separately, just as it wasn't uncommon for Gray and Erza to do the same, but it definitely wasn't something that happened too frequently. He preferred going on jobs with her, but sometimes they were busy or their interests clashed so they ended up going separate. Lucy had stayed back this time because the past day had been Levy's birthday and she didn't want to miss it. Natsu understood where she was coming from, but that didn't make him miss her any less. Her company was comfortable and without it things just didn't feel the same.

With a sigh he hopped from the window ledge, landing soundlessly on the cobblestone streets of Magnolia and letting out a yawn. Happy had gone off in search of Carla the minute they'd returned; he was probably at the guild by now and perhaps Lucy was there too.

After all, the only time Lucy had left for a job of her own while he was away, she'd left a little note taped to her window that said, _'Went off to Hargeon on a quick job. Should be back tomorrow afternoon. The request said they had a key! I hope it's true! Show it to you when I get back if I get it. If you want to sleep in here, go ahead but the fridge is OFF LIMITS! See you soon. ~Lucy'_ She'd put so many red lines and marks next to her 'off limits' remark that he actually _had_ heeded her words and stayed away from her food, even if the temptation was nearly incapacitating.

Yeah, she was probably just still at the guild, talking or something, but she'd be coming back soon and then he could catch some rest.

He had to admit his spirits rose immediately at the thought of seeing her, and while that was just a tad worrisome to him –his happiness really was starting to correspond with whether or not they were together- he was too excited to care.

Surprisingly, when he made it to the guild the windows were almost completely dark. He could tell there were most likely a few lanterns burning inside, but it hadn't been as lively as he'd expected. It was late, but still… he'd thought at least half of the members would still be up, rowdy, and most likely looking for some fun.

Without hesitance he shouldered open the door and was met with the sound of quiet laughter and conversation coming from the bar. He couldn't remember the last time Fairy Tail had actually been anywhere close to being _quiet_ : a word that didn't seem to be in their vocabulary.

Natsu breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he saw Lucy sitting at the counter next to Cana, Gray, Erza, and Elfman. Mira was still behind the bar, dutifully cleaning glasses and mugs with a smile on her face.

Gray looked over his shoulder when the door shut and Natsu could nearly feel him roll his eyes. "Oh great, Flame Brain's back."

Natsu's eyebrow twitched with annoyance. Why were they all having some weird midnight powwow at the bar? And why had they invited someone as lame as Gray? Seriously, he was such a killjoy.

Heads turned at the mention and Natsu was met with a few 'hellos' filled with a little more gusto than he'd expected. In stomping over to the bar, his head filled with comebacks to Gray's remark, he noticed that they all looked a little woozy, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to deduce that they were all quite inebriated.

He sidled up next to Lucy, eyebrows pinched as he tried to decide whether to throw an insult back at Gray or ask what they were doing, first. Lucy patted him on the shoulder and gave him a sweet but rather tired smile. "Welcome back. How'd the job go?"

Thoughts of insulting Gray were lost when he heard her voice and with a smile, he gave her a nod. "It went real well! Happy and I totally kicked butt and got it all done in about half the time the guy said it'd take. Hey, and I only busted up like… one building… maybe one and a half but I don't think anyone cared about that market anyway. They probably were grateful I started the job of tearing it down for them." He wasn't surprised when he was met with groans and sarcastic comments of _'_ only _one and a half buildings'_. Although he'd hoped they would've congratulated him on his accomplishment.

Mira was the only one who seemed to be even slightly impressed that he'd broken his own low record of destruction. "Master will be pleasantly surprised," she chimed. "His bet was four and he was near the low end." She giggled.

"I had my money on ten. C'mon man, the _one_ time you don't destroy an entire village," Gray said, shaking his head and taking another long drink from his mug.

Were they seriously gambling on how much he'd bust up on a mission? He wasn't some sort of roulette of destruction.

He tried his best to frown in disapproval, his mind again whirring with possible comebacks, but he found himself biting his lip to keep from smiling. Heh, Gray had lost money betting on him. He'd have to bribe someone into telling him how much Gray had bet each time and make sure to get it as far as possible away from that number… _Ooh_ … he could make that Ice Princess loose _so_ much money. Maybe being gambled on wasn't the worst thing in the world.

Natsu's mind –with some trouble- was brought back to his original curiosities as he heard a light hiccup from Erza, who was teetering on her stool, eyes wide as she stared into space as if it were the most interesting thing she'd ever seen. Right, he'd wanted to know what they were doing.

"So…," he started, eyes darting from one face to the next. They all looked a little out of it and he wasn't sure which one would give him a straight answer. "What's with… all of this?" he asked, waving his hands around and gesturing to all of them. "And more importantly, why wasn't I invited?" he whined.

"You were on a _job_ , remember?" Lucy sighed. "We all thought you wouldn't be back until at least tomorrow." He nodded, still looking a little pouty. It was logical, but still… he felt a little left out. Especially since _Gray_ had apparently been high enough on the list to invite.

It was quiet for a moment and Natsu eyed all of them. Erza and Elfman were both oddly quiet while Gray seemed like he wanted to make a scene, but was trying to think better of it. Yes, they were all most certainly drunk.

Mira caught his drift. "Cana said she had a "reason to celebrate" and so she went and bought herself a… treat." She gestured to the drinks in front of everyone.

Cana leaned back on her stool, tipping it so far she had to catch herself on the counter to keep from toppling over. She let out a slurred laugh. "Stronges' stuff I've ever had, I do say," she said, her speech painfully slow. She sloppily threw out her hand to gesture to everyone else. "Invited all o' the people who –hic- I thought could handle it." She gave him something akin to a stink eye as if sizing him up on whether or not she believed he could handle the liquor before making a face, shrugging, and then promptly guzzling down half her drink.

Natsu had been around them when they'd been drunk before, many times in fact, but this time seemed a little different. It was almost odd how out of it they all looked, and if anyone in Fairy Tail was being quiet, something definitely was up. How strong was this stuff, anyway?

Wait… His mind hit a roadblock and his eyes traveled back to Lucy. He knew all too well exactly what she turned into when she was drunk. She somehow morphed into a frisky, whiney, giggly, cat-like version of herself. He never knew how to act when she was drunk, his brain sometimes feeling as if it would overheat trying to figure out what to do. How was one supposed to react when their partner asked them to scratch underneath their chin, anyway? And he was _positive_ that having her pounce on top of him, nuzzling and pawing at his chest was enough to render _anyone_ absolutely paralyzed and unsure of what to do.

He didn't like it, but then again he didn't exactly… dislike it either. It wasn't his favorite but she did give him an undoubtedly high amount of attention when she was drunk, even if it wasn't exactly the attention he desired. He shivered slightly at the memories. "S-So you're drinking too, Luce?" He sounded painfully awkward.

She let out a slight laugh and waved her hand to dismiss him. "Oh, no. I know I can't handle something that makes these four pretty much comatose," she said, motioning at Erza, Gray, Elfman, and Cana. "Really, I know my limits. Instead, I took the healthy option," she smiled, holding up her glass of water and pretending to chink it against someone else's, before taking a swig.

His heart dropped in relief and she chuckled beside him.

Cana leaned back on her stool again. "An' she got invited because she's a fr- -hic- friend." Again he got something akin to a stink eye, this time because Cana apparently expected him to ask why Lucy had been invited if she didn't fit the category of "able to handle the alcohol", even though he really wouldn't have questioned it.

In all honesty, Natsu wasn't entirely sure what to do at this point. He sort of wanted to ask Lucy if she wanted to leave and they could go back to her apartment and get a good night's rest, but another part of him still felt a little left out, and didn't want to be a bummer and go home early. The "party" or "celebration" of whatever Cana thought was so special was honestly a real buzzkill. There were three drunkards teetering on barstools, a barmaid quietly finishing up her work, and Lucy who was apparently something akin to the parental supervision who wasn't drinking and making sure no one hurt themselves. Fairy Tail knew how to throw a party, and this definitely wasn't it.

Natsu put on a determined face. Fine, if they didn't know how to have a good time, he'd show them.

"Here, pour me a glass," he chirped, leaning one hand on the counter behind Lucy and trying his best to look suave.

Cana promptly burst out into laughter, which hadn't been what he was expecting. "He thinks he can handle it," she guffawed, slapping her hand on the bar. Gray let out a few chuckles at the thought and shook his head. Erza was so out of it, it seemed she hadn't even heard what had been said and Elfman merely wheezed out a quiet _"be a man"_ before crashing forward and collapsing onto the bar, snoring immediately.

Mira shook her head as if she'd expected it, reached under the bar and came back up with a blanket, which she threw over his shoulders and smiled as if he were the most adorable thing in the world.

Natsu's eyebrow twitched again in annoyance. What, did they think he was some lightweight? He was beyond insulted, but managed to reign in his flaring anger, instead gesturing at Cana to pour him a glass. "Just gimmie some; I can handle it." He sounded just as peeved as he felt.

Cana laughed to herself, whispering, " _'Just gimmie some; I can handle it,'_ he says," and snorting to herself. However, she complied, picking up a rather large bottle of brown-ish alcohol which she poured into a mug, and slid it down the bar to Natsu's waiting hand.

Lucy gave him a hesitant sideways glance. "Natsu are you really sure?" she said quietly, apparently hoping not to embarrass him. "It really is incredibly strong; there's no shame in saying no, especially this late."

He shook his head, brushing off her concerns. There was something that spurred him even further hearing her say that. She was hesitant to believe he could do it, and he'd be damned if he wouldn't turn right around and prove to her that he could do anything. He puffed out his chest slightly at the thought. He would not only show these lame-o's how to have a good time, but he'd convince her that he was the best partner she could have and that nothing could stop him. There, now he had a _real_ reason to spur himself onward.

Oddly enough it seemed a lot of what he did lately was done to impress Lucy…

He shoved the thought out of his head and gave her a wink, picking up the glass and without much thought, taking a swig.

Now, Natsu had had his fair share of alcohol over the years, just as everyone in Fairy Tail had, and he'd done just fine with all of the drinks he'd had in the past. But the truth was: he didn't honestly care too much for alcohol.

It just wasn't his cup of tea, and while it was fun and made him feel funny inside, he'd enjoy any other beverage just as much. And so no, he didn't drink too often or too much and that was just his way of life.

However, he had sampled different drinks and so he figured he'd be fine. Sure they were sometimes a little strong and made his eyes water a little but he'd be fine. This was just going to be one of those stronger ones.

He was wrong.

What in living hell had he just drank? It felt like someone had set his mouth on fire, and he ate _actual_ fire so that was really saying something. His throat clenched off and his breathing stopped, his body's natural reaction as if to say _'hell no, I'm not letting that stuff in'_. His eyes began to water as he'd expected and his eyebrows pinched involuntarily. It took more strength than he could ever have imagined to keep his face from crinkling up in disgust. He would _not_ show that he was having a hard time with this. He would _not_ let them know it was as if a firework had exploded in his mouth or a chili pepper had decided to have babies in his throat. And most certainly he would _not_ let Lucy see that he couldn't handle something.

His blurry eyes flicked to her to see she looked beyond worried, which only spurred him further.

He would do this. He would do this and he would make it look like it hadn't been any problem at all.

With an impressive amount of control he forced himself to swallow. Boy, had that been a bad idea. Those little spicy pepper babies that he swore were in his throat went tumbling down into his stomach and reacted in a way he definitely hadn't seen coming. For some reason his magic decided that it did not like having something hotter than his fire in his belly and he felt as if a small bomb had gone off in his intestines, as fire collided with fire. He wasn't sure if it was only in his imagination that the alcohol and his fire were having a war reenactment in his stomach, but it sure felt that way. And to top it off, his lungs seized and he knew he wasn't going to be able to keep a straight face for long.

He was going to cough, probably splutter, and wheeze and then they'd laugh and poke fun that it was too strong for him. And Lucy was probably going to have that _'I told you so'_ look on her face as she patted his back and tried to help him through. Which honestly, was even worse.

His eyes flicked around in panic as he tried to come up with something to stop himself from coughing, but came up empty. Empty aside from the glass in his hand which he stared at with a hidden sense of horror. He could drink some more and hope that maybe it wouldn't be as bad the second time around. Maybe it could quell the burning and get his lungs working again… But oh god that sounded awful.

He debated with himself for what felt like forever as he tried to suppress the cough, which in all reality was probably only a few milliseconds, but his mind was immediately made up when he felt her hand on his arm again. He looked her way and as he spotted the concerned look on her face growing, he bit back his worries and powered through.

He wouldn't look like an inept fool in front of her. Not today.

And so promptly, his adrenaline on high, he brought the mug to his lips again and downed the entire thing, chugging as if his life depended on it.

He just barely saw the shocked looks on their faces before his eyes welled up so much he couldn't see a thing. He'd been right about one thing at least: the fire wasn't so bad the second time around. Maybe it was because he was prepared for it this time or maybe it was because his throat was still on fire and there was still a war raging in his stomach, but no, it didn't burn as bad.

However, what he _hadn't_ accounted for was that apparently his lungs were now in on the battle and had decided to seize up completely, standing firm and strong and refusing to let any air in to aid the warring forces of his fire and the liquor.

His teeth gritted as somehow the alcohol still made its way down his throat, his eyes bulging as he tried somehow to take a breath. It was as if his throat had closed off completely, rejecting anything else he might administer upon it and punishing him for the damage he'd already done. He gripped the counter harder, trying his best to force his lungs to cooperate, but ultimately failing.

So was this how it ended? How lame. Done in by some alcohol which would undoubtedly produce one of the most _boring_ obituaries he'd ever seen. He wanted to go out with a bang, not like this, making a fool of himself and proving to Lucy that he wasn't invincible after all, in the process.

His brain cut through the fog in an instant. No. He wasn't going to let that happen, not today. Not if Natsu Dragneel had anything to say about it.

His eyes twitched as he stifled a battle cry. He wasn't going to be duped by a little drink. If _Gray_ could handle it –granted he was only drinking it a sip at a time- he could most definitely handle it and then some. He was a tough cookie, and he had something to prove. He tried to make eye contact with Lucy as he somehow managed to pry his throat apart, hoping that she would somehow see his heroic actions and collapse at his feet in pure astonishment.

He didn't know if she got the message or not, mainly because his eyes were still so blurry he couldn't see a thing. And then, the overwhelming urge he'd had to cough the first time, came back with a vengeance.

His cheeks puffed as he somehow managed to hold the cough in, cursing over and over again in his head and telling his lungs that he'd punish them real good for this someday. He wasn't sure how he managed to not let any coughing or gasping escape from his mouth that day. He guessed it was just pure will and determination to look good in front of his partner, but regardless of whether or not that was the case, he was positive he deserved some kind of award for making it through.

He held back his coughs for what seemed like an eternity before he was finally in-control enough to take a decent breath. He clenched the counter harder with his hand, steadying himself as his eyes cleared and he inhaled. All of his guildmates were silent, eyes wide as they stared and waited for his response.

With the internal effort of a mouse lifting a car, he managed a smile, his voice ragged and wheezing a tad in between words. "Real good," he breathed, frustrated with how his voice gave him away. "Real smooth." He'd hoped he'd been the only one to notice that he was putting on a strong face but by the snorts and eyerolls he received he knew he'd failed. Although, Lucy looked impressed enough, albeit still more worried than anything.

Cana chortled and remarked sarcastically, "Yeah, real smooth, Natsu."


	23. It's Something in the Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~Lucy smells like something new... and Natsu can't get enough.~

There were certain smells that would always remind him of Lucy. Whether it was the fresh smell of the disinfecting spray she used to wipe down her kitchen counters after cooking, or the breezy smell of the river and streets of Magnolia that drifted in through her window at night, they instantly reminded him of her. Or rather, her apartment, he guessed.

His nose was much keener than most, thanks to his dragon traits, and so he picked up on every little nuance in her scent and the scents around her. Of course, Lucy was a woman, and so it was only natural that she would use products such as lotion or perfume or shampoo which all had unique and pleasant smells.

She was also a bit flighty with these products. She changed scents just about as often as he changed his favorite way to insult Gray. Maybe she couldn't find one she liked or maybe she just liked the change of pace. He didn't know and honestly he didn't care.

However, he did have his favorites. For a month around last winter she'd used this lavender lotion that he had to admit was a nice addition. She used to use a shampoo which smelled like lemons and something rather sweet and he'd liked that one too. She circled back around and bought a bottle of it every now and then and he'd be lying if he said he didn't enjoy it.

There was also this weird almost woodsy-smelling body mist that was quite unconventional but he had to admit that it'd been one of his favorites too. She bought that one only once, though, around two years ago, and he hadn't smelled it since.

She never exactly bought things that he _didn't_ like the smell of. He guessed the shampoo that smelled like strawberries –which had also been incredibly strong- did sort of make his nose hairs feel like they were going to be singed off if he got too close to her, but it honestly hadn't bothered him too much. He guessed if he had to choose one that he hadn't liked, it would've been that one.

The short story was: Lucy always smelled different in some ways, and in some ways the same. And honestly, he was pretty fond of all the smells. Why? Because they were associated with her.

However… this scent… the one that'd suddenly shown up around five days ago… it was definitely different.

Something about it was incredibly familiar, as if it triggered all sorts of memories that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and also brought him some sort of comfort. The first night he'd slept in her bed and she'd flopped down next to him, this new smell wafting over to his side of the bed, he hadn't been able to sleep.

It smelled like… he couldn't put his finger on it. He ran through a list in his head as she drifted off to sleep, trying to remember a shampoo or conditioner or _some_ sort of _something_ that she'd used in the past that smelled like this, but he came up empty.

It smelled kind of sweet but not like sugar or fruit… It smelled kind of earthy but not like flowers or trees… It smelled like home or her apartment but not like her furniture or air freshener…

It kinda smelled a tiny bit like everything she'd used in the past, and yet at the same time it didn't smell like any of them at all. And it absolutely drove him crazy.

At first it was simply because he was going nuts just trying to finally place what he was smelling. Then after a few days, as he began to think that perhaps it was simply a smell he didn't know the name of, it started to drive him crazy in another way.

This smell, whatever it was… _he loved it_. He wanted to know what it was, clearly, but slowly his adoration for the smell took over and he didn't care as much anymore. That was, as long as he was able to continue to smell it.

When she was sleeping he'd quietly roll just a little closer, gently sticking his nose in her hair and taking a whiff. It was glorious. It smelled like heaven. Like everything good in life and all that was right with the world. What _was_ it?

He found himself gravitating toward her a little closer than normal. She was obviously the sun in his universe and he was never more than a shout away at any given moment, but he was a little closer in proximity to her since this new smell made its appearance. He enjoyed it. Even just being by it, taking it in as he conversed with others at the guild, or went on a job with her, or laughed at what silly thing Happy just did. Just simply having the smell around was comforting and pleasant in its own way.

He sometimes wondered if he was losing his mind, being this obsessed with a _smell_ of all things, but he'd simply laugh it off. People became obsessed with odd things now and again. He could remember watching Erza going bat-crap crazy over a scratch-and-sniff that smelled like strawberry cake once. She'd demanded that her entire room be wallpapered in the stuff. Everyone laughed and her amazement died down within a day. Her apartment –to the best of Natsu's knowledge- still had the same plain wallpaper it'd had when she'd moved in.

However, he really _did_ feel like he was going insane in another way. He couldn't figure out what the glorious smell was, and the more he smelled it the more curious he became. It was going to drive him crazy if he didn't find out what it was.

He'd never really complimented her on smelling nice in the past or given her any sort of recognition when she changed scents. He acknowledged it to himself, but he'd never said anything aloud. Part of him wondered if she'd be embarrassed or maybe she'd thank him, or maybe she wouldn't care at all if he noticed. Either way, he'd never let on that he noticed a thing.

This time though, he was going to have to.

It was on the sixth glorious day since the smell had appeared on her that he finally hit his limit. He almost felt like a cat with catnip, the smell tickling all his buttons in just the right ways. He'd have to figure out what it was, and he'd have to figure it out now. Screw how she would react. If she thanked him, great, if she was embarrassed, ohwell. He just _had_ to know.

When he plopped down next to her on a bench in the guild, just like any other day, and that smell hit him, was when he hit his breaking point. " _God_ Luce," he said, sounding frustrated at the fact that he hadn't been able to figure it out on his own, "this smell-"

"I know! I'm sorry!" she quite nearly yelled, making Levy, who was sitting across from them, jump at the sudden volume. "It's just two more days, okay? Just two more days I swear!"

Natsu sat wide-eyed and scared straight, staring at her. Well _that_ hadn't been the reaction he'd expected. Her entire face was nearing the color of a tomato and there were little tears of embarrassment in her eyes. She looked mortified to say the least. None of this made any sense to him.

"Two more days…?" he muttered. "What?"

She groaned loudly and collapsed forward onto the table. Levy patted her shoulder sympathetically, but not before shooting Natsu a glare and an eye roll. Wait, what?! What had he said that was so bad?

"God, I know I stink, I know, it's just two more days I swear. Friggin' Cana." Lucy lightly banged her head against the table in exasperation.

If he'd thought he'd been confused before, he was beyond lost now. He looked back and forth between the back of Lucy's head and Levy's awkward smile, utterly baffled. Levy, being the bright one of the bunch, seemed to catch on that he had not a clue as to what they were talking about. "The bet, didn't she tell you?"

He shook his head.

Levy sighed, jabbing a finger over her shoulder at Cana who was idling drinking herself into oblivion at the bar. "They had a bet about who could…" Levy made a face. "I forget, something about stacking glasses at the bar… or standing on the bar… I don't really remember…" She spotted the odd look on Natsu's face and waved a hand at him. "Oh, alcohol was most certainly involved for all parties involved," she said, pointing at Cana and Lucy alike. "They basically made a drunk bet about something incredibly stupid, Lucy lost, and the punishment was that she couldn't take a bath or shower for a week. Of course, that rule was later amended; she could take a bath or shower, but only with water."

Lucy groaned, somehow dragging herself off the table to sit upright again. "I'm so humiliated. I've lost like ten thousand percent of my femininity this week and it was already taking some hard hits lately with the jobs we've been going on…" she trailed off, remembering their trip to the tar pits where they had gotten so dirty they'd nearly been unrecognizable when they'd returned.

It clicked slowly in Natsu's head, but eventually he put the story together and realized that perhaps this new smell wasn't a new smell at all. "Wait so you haven't taken a shower in like a week?" he asked.

"No," Lucy moaned. "I can't believe you haven't said anything sooner. I half expected you to stop sleeping at my place…" She glanced off to the side with a look that said she didn't exactly see that as a bad thing, but he paid it no mind. Lucy pulled the sleeve of her shirt up to her nose to sniff it as if she expected everything in her general vicinity to reek. She didn't seem too offended by the smell but frowned nonetheless.

"No shampoo…"

"No."

"No soap…"

"No."

"No perfume…"

"No."

"No… smelly stuff at all?"

"Nope."

He sat quiet for a minute, unsure of how to deal with the new knowledge. So this 'new' smell, the one that he'd easily declared as his favorite of all time and the one that he couldn't quite put his finger on… was pure, unaltered Lucy Heartfilia?

So was that why it'd smelled a bit like everything she'd used in the past, but had't quite perfectly matched? Had she just had so much piled on top of her natural scent that he hadn't been able to ever smell it purely until now?

He blinked at her. Why the _hell_ did she try to cover that up? It was the most glorious smell he'd ever had the chance to experience. It was perfect. He never wanted her to smell like anything else. And she thought she stank? What planet was she living on?

He opened his mouth to voice his opinions but quickly shut it. If he knew Lucy as well as he thought he did, she probably would either freak out and tell him he sounded creepy, or get mad at him, do one of her famous 'Lucy kicks' thinking he was just mocking her or being sarcastic when he said she smelled good.

She was rather feminine and she did take quite the offense at anyone suggesting otherwise. He guessed she was entitled to using whatever products she wanted and it wasn't his place to intervene… But _good lord_ did she smell good.

He instead opted for a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant. "I don't think ya smell bad at all, Luce," he said, pulling a bowl of pretzels from the end of the table in front of himself. "I was just curious what it was that I'd been smellin'." He tapped his head and grinned at her. "I'll have to commit it to ma nose brain so I can remember it when I'm sniffin' you out on a job."

Of course he could always sniff her out, but being able to smell her so purely now he was sure it'd be easier in the future. She blinked stupidly at him, spluttering over some half-formed words before she buried her head in her arms again, looking a bit like a tomato again. "O-Oh, okay, yeah," she mumbled. Levy patted her lightly on the back again, shaking her head with a smile.

Well, that was one mystery solved, he guessed. Although, from the sounds of it, he wouldn't get to smell her like this again any time soon, which made him rather sad. There was no harm in enjoying it now though, he supposed. Natsu then scooted a little closer, taking in a long drag of her scent, trying to look preoccupied and hoping no one noticed.


	24. Char-Broiled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _(Modern! AU)_  
>  ~In which Lucy is absolutely positive the guy next to her in the cooking class is a pyro and should never have been trusted with knives.~

Damn Jet and his bad habit of not covering his mouth when he sneezed.

Lucy rounded the corner and spotted a sign labeled 'gym' placed rather importantly next to a set of double doors which were propped open. Ah, she'd found it…

It'd felt like forever since the last time she found herself in the halls of a middle school. The tiles looked the same, there was still the same faint smell of cleaning product, and because it was after-hours, it was also eerily quiet. It brought back memories, at least.

Why was she in some random public school that she didn't know, at seven thirty in the evening? Because of Jet and his big, fat, sneezing mouth, that's why. To clarify, it was more what came out of Jet's big, fat, sneezing mouth… and to clarify further, it was more because of the simple fact that Jet had given Levy a cold.

Around a week ago Levy had finally built up the courage to ask out Gajeel, the guy she hadn't stopped talking about since she'd met him a few months ago. Lucy teased her left and right about her blatant crush, encouraging her to go ahead and ask him out, just to see how it would go. Lucy honestly hadn't thought Levy would have the courage, but she had, and he'd said yes.

Apparently Levy had panicked, not originally expecting him to accept, and had promptly asked him to come over to her place for dinner in exactly two weeks. Lucy had laughed so hard she had to hold onto her chair to keep from falling out of it when she'd been told this news. First of all, scheduling a date two weeks in advance was rather bizarre and sort of hilarious. Second, Levy had no idea how to cook, and ordering food would seem a little… tacky. Besides, Levy had admitted she didn't exactly want him to find out she couldn't cook. She'd mumbled something about her femininity being in jeopardy after that remark and then had promptly gone and bought herself a ticket to a spot in a local cooking class.

It'd been advertised for beginners to cooking, that they'd learn how to make one (or two if they bought a ticket to the second half of the class offered on another day) five-star meal, and that it was taught by an esteemed chef that would be able to turn even the worst of cooks into culinary experts.

It all seemed a bit hoaxy, or even a bit of a scam to Lucy, honestly, but Levy had been excited enough so she kept her mouth shut.

And then the next day was when Jet just _had_ to come for a visit, despite being sick. And just _had_ to sneeze right on Levy in what had to have been the most embarrassing moment of his life. He'd apologized profusely, of course, but that hadn't stopped Levy from coming down with one hell of a cold the day after. Which also happened to be the day of the cooking class.

Lucy had urged her to find a different class to take, but as the money was already spent, Levy was determined. She knew she herself wouldn't be able to go –everyone sorely doubted the other participants of the class would appreciate her coughing away over their food- and so she'd shoved the ticket into Lucy's hand, told her she'd owe her one, but Lucy was going to have to take the class for her. Levy then said that Lucy, after receiving the coaching from the 'expert chef' could come back and relay every single detail she'd learned, and that then she'd be able to cook the meal just as well as if she'd been there.

Now, Lucy loved Levy, she did, but she also seriously didn't want to take a cooking class of all things… But she was a friend in need, and so she'd gone, hoping that it would be quick and painless and that she wouldn't make a fool out of herself in the process.

She'd been exposed to cooking after all. She'd watched the chefs in her mansion growing up with intrigue as they dutifully cooked the Heartfilia family's meals. But then again, watching was one thing, doing was another.

Lucy grumbled to herself as she hesitantly peered into the gym. The class was scheduled at the local middle school, in the gymnasium. She seriously doubted that anyone could get a good cooking education in a school gym, or that any 'esteemed chef' would actually agree to teach there… but she was trying to keep an open mind.

Inside was about what she had expected: a set of twenty long tables, ten on one side, ten on the other with an aisle running up in between them, all facing one direction while in front was yet another table, where a stout little man with a chin that could cut glass was standing, fussing about with things on his countertop.

It looked like the typical cooking class. They would all have their stations and would mimic the instructions and demonstration given by the chef in the front. All but the two stations in the back were already taken, and Lucy thanked her lucky stars. She'd hoped she'd be able to hide in the back, away from the attention.

She scooted over to the one on the right, eyeing the other participants as they eagerly chattered to their station neighbors across the aisle. They all looked excited. Lucy pictured Levy would've probably looked the same if she would've come. Probably with a pen and notebook in-hand, ready to scribble away every instruction.

Lucy put her bag on the floor beside her, rolling up her sleeves and pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Her station was rather impressive, she had to admit. A four-burner stove was built into the top, partnered with a countertop space on one side and a sink on the other. There were various drawers on the sides, all of which appeared to hold pots, pans, spoons, and every other utensil a cook could possibly need. And a small, but decent-looking oven was on the end. Not too shabby for an after-hours class in a school.

The man at the front clapped his hands together loudly and the chatter immediately died down. He had to stand on a box behind his station to even see over the top but it didn't seem to deter him any. He gave them all a pose and a finger gun. "Welcome, ladies and gentlemen," he began, his voice quite energetic and rather deep for his size. "My name is Ichiya –although, most of you probably know that by now-," he said, motioning over to a sign which had his picture on it, propped up on an easel. In huge letters it said 'Ichiya: Gentleman, Master of Art and Culinary Excellence'. Lucy stifled an eyeroll.

"I will waste no time with petty introductions, though," he said, striking yet another pose. Hadn't he already sort of just introduced himself? "I will instead let the parfum of knowledge guide us, and jump right into this extravagant meal we will all prepare tonight."

He really wasn't joking around. He promptly whipped out a pan, and without any further ado, began the class. Everyone scrambled to find the pan that he had produced. Lucy found it in the third cabinet over and placed it on the stove just as he had. He then explained in great detail that they would be making a Steak Diane with rice pilaf on the side. Ichiya then explained that he liked to pair this dinner with a deep red wine, namely his own brand –which looked as if he'd hand-glued the labels on himself- which he would be selling after the class was over.

Really? Levy couldn't have found any classes with a better instructor? Erf.

He then went on to describe what utensils and pots they would be using, and how they worked. Lucy considered herself a beginner, but not enough of a beginner to not know how a spoon worked for God's sake, so admittedly she tuned him out a bit.

Her eyes flicked over to the station beside hers. No one had shown up yet. Levy had mentioned the class was full, but maybe she'd been mistaken. Not that Lucy was complaining about not having a neighbor right across the aisle from her, because she definitely wasn't.

Ichiya finished his explanation of how the stove worked next, then the oven. He even did a brief tutorial on the sink which Lucy thought was quite unnecessary. However, eventually, he came to the end of the beginning, and the actual cooking class began.

Ichiya said they would begin with the rice, and then while it was cooking in the oven, move on with the steak. He explained that all the ingredients they would need were in the large drawer on the side of their stations, a drawer Lucy hadn't seen in her first sweep over the counter. There was bustling and squeaking of shoes on the floor as everyone hustled over to take out their ingredients. Lucy pulled out a jar of rice, a few onions, a cooled platter of uncooked steaks, along with many other ingredients.

Amongst the commotion she hadn't realized someone had come in and scurried over to the station next to hers until she stood up, wiping her hands on a little towel, and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of a very bright-haired boy nosing around in the drawers of the station next to hers.

"Oh jeez, didn't see you there," she laughed awkwardly. He gave her a lopsided and rather easy smile.

"No prob. Hey, I'm like hella late, can ya catch me up?"

Ichiya had moved on, but Lucy figured it didn't really matter. As it turned out, this man seemed rather fond of drama and made every little action or word he said quite full of emotion. Which also made everything he said and did take quite a long time. She could catch up if she fell behind.

"Yeah, sure, really you haven't missed much. He just explained what all this crap is and how it works and stuff. Oh, and that your ingredients are in a big drawer on that side of your counter," she said, pointing to the far side.

He nodded and quickly began taking out ingredients of his own. Lucy leaned on the counter and turned her attention back to Ichiya. He was explaining exactly what each ingredient was and where it came from… Apparently the rice they were using was farmed with the delicate care of a family who had been growing rice for centuries. Apparently this family had also sold the rice to the queens and kings of neighboring regions for hundreds of years. Lucy peered in the jar. It looked just like the rice she got at the store for three dollars… Rice was rice.

The boy next to her had his ingredients out in a flash and noisily began rummaging around in the drawers, pulling out pans and spatulas, among other things that Lucy was almost positive they wouldn't be using.

"Yo, what're we makin'?" he asked, leaning toward her. Their stations were about two feet apart so he didn't need to talk very loud for her to hear. Ichiya didn't seem perturbed in the least to have two of his pupils talking –or perhaps he didn't notice- and the other participants were so engrossed in the demonstration that Lucy figured maybe it wasn't the worst thing that this boy had come in. She would've been bored out of her mind; at least she could explain a few things that he missed to pass the time as Ichiya explained the exact harvesting process of the bowl of mushrooms they'd been given.

"Um, we're making some steak dish called Steak Diane, and then some rice to go with it."

The boy made a face. "Who's Diane?"

Lucy blinked. "I-I don't know… I think that's just what it's called?"

"So is she like the lady that made it or something?"

She blinked again. "I guess?"

He shrugged. "Wonder why she isn't teaching us then…" His eyes went wide. "Unless this guy _is_ Diane-!" His eyes flicked over to the gigantic poster of Ichiya, broadcasting his name for all to see, and Lucy saw realization dawn upon him. "Oh… not Diane… maybe he knows her or somethin'."

Wow… she had no idea who he was or anything about him but he was definitely _not_ the type of person she'd expected to see at a cooking class. Curiosity suddenly overwhelmed her. "Hey, so what brings you here?" she asked, trying to make small talk as Ichiya droned away.

The boy leaned on the counter, yawning. "Oh, I put my name in this raffle machine thing last week and won this. I was going for the free car but hey, a free meal, can't pass that up, right?" He grinned from ear-to-ear.

_Oh_ , that made much more sense.

"Although I'm not so sure about this…" he trailed off, making a face. "I mean, I can get down with steak but this looks like it's gonna be some of that fancy food… I'm not so sure about that. Gimmie a burger and I'll be happy, y'know?" He gave her another smile.

No, she didn't exactly know. She'd grown up with that 'fancy food', as he called it. She'd been nineteen before she'd had her first hamburger and while it did have its own charm, she guessed, her pallet had been trained in a certain way. However, this boy seemed like a real nice guy and quite down-to-earth, so it fit him well. It also felt a little bit nice to have someone to talk to that –like her- wasn't exactly a thousand percent sure about this class. Or at least hadn't signed up for it on purpose. She held out her hand across the aisle. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Hi, I'm Lucy."

He eagerly took her hand, shaking it once. His hand was almost painfully warm to the touch. "Nice ta meetcha Lucy, I'm Natsu."

Lucy turned her attention back to Ichiya and to her horror, realized that in just those few brief moments of conversation, he'd actually begun the class, and everyone else already had their chopping boards out and their pots on the stove. Crap, she was already behind.

Both she and Natsu scrambled to catch up.

"Crap. Did he say what temperature?" Lucy hissed at Natsu as she flicked on one of the burners, putting her pot over it.

"The hell if I know," Natsu replied, slamming his pot onto the stove. There was a moment of silence as they both stared at the stove, guessing the temp.

"Eh… maybe mediu-"

"High, it's definitely high, let's just blast cook whatever the hell goes in this pot. Hell, we'll be done before they are even though we started after them," Natsu cackled. Lucy watched in horror as he turned the flame on high, the blue sparks licking at the bottom of the pot rapidly.

She stifled a snort at how proud he looked of his logic and went for a more conservative approach with medium heat.

Lucy and Natsu both craned their necks left and right as they strained to see the work stations of the people in front of them. Ichiya's station was too far away to see, after all.

"I think there's butter in that pot…" Lucy said quietly.

"This dude's choppin' onions and peppers like a madman over here," Natsu said, sounding impressed. Indeed, the man in front of Natsu did have some impressive knife skills.

"So butter, onions, and peppers? Do you think that's all we missed?" she asked, taking a knife and slicing off a generous helping of the stick of butter they'd been given. She plopped it into the pan and watched as it began to melt and slide around.

"I guess?" She looked over just in time to see Natsu throw his entire stick of butter into his pan. Her eyes bugged but he'd moved on and she decided not to say anything.

"Now a tip," Ichiya said, holding a finger in the air. "Onions have a very strong parfum, and while that's essential to the excellence of our dish, it can burn one's eyes if not careful." He held up a slice of white bread. "To combat the parfum, hold a piece of bread against the roof of your mouth." He ripped off a chunk and popped it into his mouth.

Lucy raised her eyebrows and followed the instruction. Interesting, she had seen the cooks in her kitchen back home furiously wiping their eyes with towels after cutting onions. She wondered if they'd heard of this tip… or if it really worked.

Cautiously she picked a rather large knife from the block in one of the cabinets and carefully began dicing her onions, trying her best to keep an eye on the woman in front of her to make sure she wasn't doing anything wrong.

"Lies! All lies!" she heard Natsu hiss to himself. She looked over in time to see him wiping his eyes on his sleeve. Oh… the bread trick wasn't working with him… she hadn't felt any burning yet but maybe it didn't work for everyone.

"You put the bread in your mouth?" she asked, her words slightly slurred by the piece on her own tongue

Natsu nodded. "I did the entire slice."

His words weren't altered at all and it only took her a second to realize his mistake. "You weren't supposed to _eat_ it," she snorted. "Just hold it in your mouth."

"What?!" he scoffed. "That's crazy. Tell a guy to put food in his mouth and not eat it; that's torture, y'know!" With another wipe at his eyes he steeled a determined look on his face. Without hesitation he grabbed the knife in the middle of the handle with both hands and with loud and rather annoying little _'whack whack whack'_ s he went at the onion as if there were no tomorrow. He looked like a little human chopper, not bothering to rock the knife and let it do the work, instead slamming it down over and over again with the vigor that could only result from a man scorned.

Although being scorned by or over an onion seemed a little extreme…

Lucy shoveled her chopped onions into the pot and smiled as she heard them begin to sizzle, just as the other pans in the room were doing. She was still behind, as she spotted some people already pouring rice into their pots, but she'd at least done some of the first step right. Ichiya was moving too fast for her so she decided perhaps she'd just tune him out entirely, instead opting to use the lady in front of her as her instructions.

Natsu shoveled his onion into his pan next and there were loud and rather scary pops of butter and sizzling that came from inside, a little cloud of smoke rising up into the air. Yup, high heat was too hot. He seemed invigorated by it, however, pumping a fist into the air in victory. Whether he felt victorious that he would be cooking it faster than everyone else, or if he was just happy that the onions which had mocked him so were now being fried to a crisp and getting what they deserved, she wasn't sure.

"What's next?" Natsu asked, rubbernecking it to watch the guy in front of him again.

"I'm going for the pepper," Lucy said, already beginning to chop it up. She spotted little seeds inside and made a face, unsure of whether or not they were supposed to be included in the dish… In looking up, everyone was far beyond this point and so she decided not to waste any time in picking them out, instead pushing the pepper into her pot next and hoping for the best.

Natsu used his 'human chopper' technique on the pepper as well, stem and all going into the pot. She made a mental note not to try anything he made if they were supposed to try other people's at the end… Oh God she hoped they wouldn't… hers would undoubtedly be wrong… Poor Levy…. Lucy'd have to pay for a ticket to another class for her friend in the upcoming week because she sorely doubted she'd be able to relay any of this back to her.

Lucy peered into the pan, having not the slightest of clues as to what it was supposed to look like. The onion was turning rather clear-ish and the pepper looked a bit softer… Good enough? Good enough.

She dumped in her rice and Natsu followed in suit. Again his pot made a rather funny noise when he added the rice. He peered inside and nodded as if he were happy with the outcome, although Lucy was almost positive it wasn't what was 'correct' at least according to Ichiya.

Natsu dusted off his hands and his pot made another loud pop, a little grain of rice hurtling out the top. His eyebrows raised and with another pop another one came flying out and onto the counter. Another two came careening out the top and both Natsu and Lucy stopped, as if mesmerized, silently watching. "Woah," he said as a few more flew into the air.

"Ah… you might want to turn down the heat…" Lucy said hesitantly.

"Pfsht," Natsu scoffed. "Naw, are you kiddin'? Look! I'm cookin' it so efficiently that even the rice are jumpin' for joy at the sheer awesomeness." He grinned and she somehow managed to stifle a laugh. Well, he looked at the bright side of things at least.

"Okay what's next?" Lucy asked, leaning to see around the lady in front of her. To her horror there were now empty containers of all sorts and a half-skinned orange lying on the counter. She was now even _further_ behind than before.

"I have no idea, this dude's about out of ingredients already," Natsu said, sounding impressed. "And he's got one super weird bald orange too. Holy moly what did he _do_ to that thing?" Natsu looked appalled.

"Okay, okay, don't panic," Lucy said more to herself than Natsu. "We can figure this out. Look this lady has an empty little glass bowl, do we have a bowl like that?" She frantically began looking through her piles of ingredients. Everyone else had apparently organized them, she however had just piled them up in one corner of her counter. She was regretting that now.

"This?" Natsu asked. He held up an identical glass bowl filled with what looked to be water with little flecks of leaves in it. "What is this stuff?" He poked a finger in and swirled it around.

Lucy found her bowl as well. She had no idea what it was… some sort of herb in water? Some sort of herb in vinegar? She sniffed the bowl. No, definitely just water. "D-Do we just dump it in?" she asked.

"Eh…." Natsu peeked into his own pot and jumped back when another grain of rice flew out. "Sure why not?" He dumped it in and after an explosion-like sizzle that could only be from the mixture of water and oil, his pan calmed down a little.

Although his 'sure why not' attitude was not exactly comforting while working with high heat, she decided to take a note from his book… or at least follow his move this time.

Lucy shrugged and dumped hers in too with a more modest sizzle coming from her pot. "Okay I think they put in these leaves here and the container of chicken broth too," she said, trying her best to see around the woman in front of her.

"Roger that," Natsu said, dumping in the broth and throwing in a cluster of herbs they'd been given. Lucy was positive they were supposed to pull the leaves off the stems, but stems hadn't stopped him in the past with the pepper so she again decided against saying anything.

"Okay now to zest the orange, I guess?" she said.

"We're gonna _what_ the orange, now?" he asked.

"Zest?"

"The hell is that?"

"We're gonna peel it with this thing…" she said, having found her zester. Natsu stared at the little device as if it were from another planet. "It's like a little shredder, basically," she said. Luckily she had watched the chefs in her kitchen growing up or she would've been absolutely lost. She really wasn't cut out for cooking…

As Lucy began to very hesitantly scrape her orange, Natsu bustled around and eventually found his own zester. She assumed he would watch her and figure out what he was supposed to do, however his eyes didn't once drift in her direction.

She watched in quiet amusement as she could nearly see the gears turning in his head as he turned over the zester in his hand, trying to figure out how to use it. He flipped it one way, shook his head, and flipped it the other. He made a face and turned the orange over… then he placed it on the counter… then picked it back up… then back on the counter. He couldn't decide the best way to go about it, apparently.

She'd completely stopped zesting her own while watching him with intrigue, and much to her amusement, he apparently decided the best way to zest it would be to put it on the counter and-

_Bam! Bam! Bam!_

"Woah, woah, woah, there Natsu-" she squealed as he smacked his orange again and it went shooting off the counter and rolling toward the bleachers on the other side of the gym. 

"Shoot," he cursed, scrambling after it and awkwardly laughing and nodding at the other participants staring at him as he ran across the gym, and then back, all after his fruit.

Lucy was a little surprised but Ichiya didn't seem disturbed in the least by the fact that one of his pupils had somehow managed to send one of their ingredients flying across the room. Nor did he seem to feel the need to help said pupil, who clearly had no idea what he was doing. After all, cooking was not a contact sport, nor one with flying projectiles.

"Natsu," Lucy said, her voice quivering with poorly concealed laughter. "J-Just do this, okay?" she said, giggling to herself and giving her orange a few scrapes.

His mouth made a tiny 'o' of realization and he nodded. "Hey, you know what you're doin' there," he said, sounding impressed.

Lucy hadn't known him well enough to be worried about what he'd do with a knife when they'd been chopping up their first ingredients. He'd been rather helter-skelter with it and based upon his 'high heat faster cook' mentality she pegged him to be the 'go big or go home' type. But maybe that was a bit of an understatement as she yet again stopped zesting her own orange to watch him with horror.

He'd somehow sandwiched the orange between two of the burners he wasn't using, instead using their metal rims as little pegs to hold the orange in place. And then he went at it with the zester like a damn lumberjack hacking away at a tree. She'd never seen someone saw at any type of food the way he was sawing away at the orange… he'd already zested off much more than the skin and he didn't show any signs of stopping.

His orange began to leak juice onto the stove and Lucy –quite afraid of what would happen if he got juice in or on the burner he was actually using- decided to intervene again.

"Natsu-N-Natsu! Woah, I think that's good enough." She spluttered out a laugh and tapped her own orange zest into her pot.

Natsu leaned back, inspecting his work and nodded. "Yeah, looks about right…" There was an entire chunk of his orange missing… it didn't look right at all. He looked pleased as punch at his work, however.

He plopped in the mass of pulp and rind with another nod and Lucy shook her head, turning back to the woman in front of her.

_Crap!_

Everyone was bending over and putting their pots inside of the stove. Had she missed any ingredients? Was the pot covered? Why were there towels on some pots? At what temperature was the stove set? She had no idea what the answers to _any_ of these questions were and decided she'd just wing it.

"Now don't forget the salt!" Ichiya piped at the front. That was the only clue she had.

Whirling like a tornado she threw in a pinch of salt, stirred her pot a couple times, and hurried to find the lid.

From the looks of it Natsu had now sort of given up on watching the man in front of him, instead mimicking whatever she was doing. How the hell was she _this_ far behind and _this_ out of the loop as to what she should be doing… and yet there was _still_ someone who was further behind than she was, and now looking at her as the example. Oh God, whatever monstrosity came out of his pot would be partially her fault now, too.

Oh boy.

She found the lid to her pot, as well as a little towel that some of the other people were using. It almost looked like they draped the towel over the pot, and _then_ put the lid on… Lucy had no idea why they would be doing that but decided, what the hell, she'd do it too.

The woman in front of her closed her stove and with a satisfied sigh looked around herself. By some miracle from above, she also realized the girl behind her was having quite a time of it… or at least had noticed a mistake. "Oh, don't forget to wet your towel first, dear," she said with a comforting smile.

"Oh…" Lucy stared down at her towel. Wet it? With what? She began moving toward the sink and the woman nodded. "Ah, thank you," she laughed sheepishly.

Lucy drenched the towel, wringing it out and placing it over the top of her pot, placing the lid then on top of it, and shoving it into the oven in one fell swoop. She glanced over to Natsu just as he was putting his pot in, just in time to see that he'd too followed her lead in putting the towel over his pot… however only the corners were visible under the lid. He'd quite literally just thrown a towel into his pot… he was cooking a towel… Lucy hoped it wouldn't catch fire being in there like that.

"What temperature do you think?" she asked quietly as Ichiya moved on to explain what cuts of beef they'd be cooking.

"Beats me… how high does this thing go?" Natsu asked, crouching down and poking at buttons.

"I dunno like 500 or 600- nonono not that high," she said quickly, backtracking as he began punching in numbers that looked awfully close to 550. "I think something like… 350 degrees?" Yeah, that's what most things were cooked at, right?

Natsu made a face. "That's too low…" He punched in 450 and she was just glad he'd at least toned it down a little.

She set her own and stood back up, taking a deep reassuring breath. "There, I think we caught up a little. He's still explaining the other ingredients."

Natsu looked around and nodded. "Right, so now we make Diane's steak, yeah?"

Lucy chuckled. "Yeah, I think so." Much to her excitement they'd actually caught up more than she'd originally thought. Ichiya was just asking them to pull out a large skillet, along with a smaller flat pan.

Ichiya said that the steaks would be rather straightforward aside from one step that he would keep secret until it was time, but one he thought they would have fun with. That comment made Lucy a little nervous, and Natsu incredibly excited, based upon how quickly he was bouncing on his toes, anyway. They both pulled out the pans and awaited the next instruction.

This was the first time Lucy was actually able to listen to and follow what Ichiya himself said, and it made for a much less stressful go of it than scrambling to catch up like they had with the rice. He explained calmly to peel and chop their shallots, and then slice their mushrooms, all the while heating both pans on the stove on medium to medium-high heat with a little dollop of olive oil in each as well.

Lucy spied Natsu turning on his burners, looking around at everyone else, then making a small scoffing noise to himself and yet again turning both as high as they'd go. He seemed quite pleased with the tall flames beneath his pans, bending down to watch them, grinning all the while. She was beginning to wonder if he was a little _too_ intrigued with the fire… he wasn't a pyromaniac or something, right? Surely not. Although, he was very haphazard about everything… she was a little worried to let him wield a knife again.

She decided what she didn't know -or in this case watch- wouldn't hurt her and instead busied herself with her own ingredients. It was much nicer following along with the class as it was intended. Maybe she'd be able to relay at least the steak recipe back to Levy without any problems. Although who knew, maybe her rice would turn out fine too and she could at least try her best to explain the process.

There was a little bowl of peas sitting on her counter, however, which it didn't appear anyone else still had out which was worrying her. She felt as if she'd definitely missed how or when they went in the rice… Oh well, who liked peas, anyway?

"Hey, hey Lucy look," Natsu hissed from beside her.

Much to her chagrin it appeared he'd found another large knife and had decided that a double-wielding tactic was even more efficient than his human chopper technique he'd used with the onions. He gave her a wink and in a blur began hacking away at his ingredients, bits of mushroom spewing in all directions, including onto the back of the man in front of him who luckily didn't seem to notice.

A moment later he stopped, apparently happy with his work and struck a little proud pose. "Voila!" he said dramatically, flicking a piece of hair off of his face and kissing his fingers as if it were pure perfection. Somehow in that moment he –whether on purpose or not, she wasn't sure- looked rather like Ichiya and it was a bit too much for her to take. She burst out into a fit of giggles. He looked ecstatic to have amused her, a grin stretching ear-to-ear on his own face.

Ichiya again didn't seem to take notice of his pupils in the back who were goofing off with one another instead of listening to him. Lucy barely heard it when he told them to place the shallots in one pan and the steaks in the other. The pleasant sound of sizzling food began to fill the gym as everyone followed his directions.

Lucy carefully placed her steaks in the larger pan, poking them around a bit so they'd all fit, and scraped her shallots into the other. She had to admit she felt rather proud watching her food simmer in her pans. Finally, she felt like she'd most certainly done something right and she was positive she could relay at least _this_ back to Levy. Mm, it smelled good too.

Another blistering sizzle came from her left and she sighed, glancing over to find Natsu's food popping and crackling away. There was that high heat again. He was snickering to himself though, rubbing his hands together, pleased knowing he'd be cooking his faster than everyone else. He caught her eye and gave her another wink.

The dish was rather basic. They flipped the steaks over after a while to cook them the rest of the way, Ichiya instructing them to cook them to whatever their desired doneness was. Lucy was positive Natsu's steaks were still completely raw on the inside but apparently that was the way he liked them. Next they turned to their other pan, adding the mushrooms along with several other easily measured ingredients such as garlic and Dijon mustard.

Butter was also another ingredient, that of which she had to lend some to Natsu, being as he'd used his entire allotted stick with the rice. She cut off the butter this time to make sure he had the right amount. He thanked her profusely and told her she was a god amongst men. All for butter. Well, he did seem to have quite the love of food.

Ichiya cleared his throat loudly then. "My friends we near the end of our cooking journey, and thus we've made it to the secret step I told you of in the beginning!" He struck a pose and Lucy bit her lip. She wasn't as sure about this 'secret step' as everyone else was. Especially Natsu, who was leaning on his counter in anticipation, the hem of his shirt dangerously close to his fire.

Ichiya held up a bottle of alcohol then, high in the air so everyone could see. This didn't have his own label on it, instead a very fancy-looking scrawling font etched across the glass. "Often times cooking with alcohol can add a robust and delectable parfum!" he exclaimed. "Today we will be using brandy. Now, watch closely." He uncorked the bottle and poured a rather generous amount into the pan. "Add whatever amount will appeal to your taste buds the best," he said, swirling around his pan. "And then, for the secret step…"

He tilted his pan away from himself, allowing just the edge to dip near the flames of the stove and… _Whoosh-_

Lucy's mouth fell open as she watched his pan suddenly engulfed in pink-ish rather see-through flames which billowed loudly for a moment before dying down on their own. Ichiya swirled the pan again when the fire was just little sparks, extinguishing it the rest of the way.

There were 'oohs' and 'aahs' and a few of the participants gave him a round of applause. Ichiya took a few gracious bows before striking yet another pose. He was quite the dramatist. "And that, dear pupils, is how one adds the essence of alcohol to their dish through a flambé." He gestured out at them. "Go ahead and mimic with your own dishes. I'll be excited to see the passionate flames you all produce!"

And with that everyone busied themselves with retrieving their own bottles of brandy and readying their pans for the explosion.

Lucy on the other hand was a little more hesitant. First of all, had they all _seen_ the fire coming out of his pan?! It had to have been at least two feet high and while it was all fine and dandy if they were prepared to blast cook everything that happened to be in the way, _she_ on the other hand tended to like her own eyebrows and had the feeling she'd be without them rather quickly if she were to try it.

And secondly… She snapped her head over to Natsu who looked like a kid in a candy shop as he used his teeth to pry out the cork. She was quite literally terrified to have him near a flame let alone-

He dumped nearly half the bottle in, easily surpassing Ichiya's amount. Before she could say anything to him, or at least try to talk some sense into him, he'd already tipped his pan and the show began.

As his food ignited a low but loud rumbling sound that somehow resembled a lion's roar echoed out in the gym. There was then a pillar of fire that shot straight up into the air, snapping menacingly. Lucy had been impressed with a two-foot fire… this one might have topped six. Sparks flew in all directions, some onto the counter, some into the air, and some out in all directions including onto the back of the man in front of Natsu's station who jumped when he felt them. Luckily they were small enough that they just left little tiny grey singe marks on the back of his shirt… but still.

Natsu let go of his pan entirely, instead pumping both fists into the air in victory. "Woo hoo!" he celebrated, cackling to himself. "Now _that's_ what I'm talkin' about!" His flame didn't die down nearly as quickly as Ichiya's had, instead staying as a little vortex of fire for a good solid thirty seconds. During this time Natsu relished in his creation, striking up some sort of dance that looked almost as if he were trying to summon rain clouds. He hopped around in a circle, clapping his hands. Lucy almost _did_ wish he was doing a rain dance, then his fire would've at least been put out.

After it died down, so did Natsu. She'd subconsciously moved onto the other side of her counter and was staring over at him wide-eyed and quite nearly scared silent. There was no way he should've been let into this cooking class. Everyone's safety was most certainly in jeopardy. She had _not_ signed up for this… Natsu was grinning so happily now though that somehow she found a smile twitching at her own lips… His excitement was so contagious. Even if he was a foolhardy, dangerous, dork who was _definitely_ not cut out for cooking…

Everyone had turned to look at Natsu's pan as it ignited, but now that the show was over they began on their own. There were little poofs and whooshes around the room as pan after pan was set aflame and cooked down to extinguish it.

"Hey, aren't ya gonna do yours?" Natsu asked as she hesitantly made her way back around to her pan. He'd been eyeing his bottle of brandy again after he finished as if he wanted another go at it, but had eventually decided against it. Only once the cork was back in place did she finally dub it safe enough to return.

"A-Ah, yeah… I'm not really sure I want to do that…"

"Oh sure you do," he crowed, marching over. "C'mon it's super fun." He pried the cork out of her bottle and held it out to her.

"I-I really don't know… I mean I like food just fine without the alcohol. Maybe I'll omit it-"

"Don't be silly. I dunno what it'll taste like but this dude's a pro, right? I'm sure it'll be super delicious." He nodded to her in encouragement and gestured again for her to take it. She pursed her lips and looked at the bottle hesitantly. "Wait a second…" he said, cocking his head. "You aren't _afraid_ of it, are you?"

"No," she replied back sharply. It wasn't a lie, she _wasn't_ afraid of it… She was just… worried for the safety of her own eyebrows… But also a tad afraid. With her luck she'd burn the entire place to the ground and she really didn't want the headline _'Girl Burns Down Local School's Gymnasium During Beginner's Cooking Class'_ scrawling across the newspapers the next morning.

"You want me to do it?" he asked.

"No!" She said it a little too readily and had to quickly backtrack to keep from hurting his feelings. "No, no, I mean I do want to do it… I'm just worried I'll do it wrong or something…"

"Aw, c'mon that's no problem. Ya won't do it wrong. Here." He pushed the bottle into her hand and swung around to stand behind her. He reached around her, placing one of his hands on the handle of her pan. She could feel his face just to her left and tensed up immediately. "Here, you pour it, I'll do the fire thingy, and then it'll be delicious! We can't lose!"

She narrowed her eyes, relaxing a little. "Are you really doing this to help me or do you just want to light something else on fire?"

He feigned offense, gasping loudly. "Why I never- Of course I'm doing this to help you." He tsked. "Twisting my good intentions… You can do it on your own if you'd like y'know." He backed away briefly and she shook her head.

"No, no, you do it. Fine. Whatever. Just don't catch me on fire, okay? I'm in front and I don't want to be used as a human shield, got it?" she said, clutching the bottle with both hands.

"Roger that, captain," he said, scooting back forward and taking ahold of her pan once again. "Ready whenever you are."

She prayed to the gods that she'd still have both eyebrows and all her eyelashes and most importantly her dignity when this was all said and done. She poured in a bit of alcohol, not too much but not too little in her opinion.

When she finished pouring and pulled the bottle back to herself she could nearly feel him grin. "Fire in the hole!" he said, tipping the pan and igniting it in a swirling whoosh of flames. She squeaked in surprise, moving backward only to bump into his chest behind her and end up going nowhere. The flame was unexpectedly large for the amount she'd poured in and had definitely surprised her, however this time she found herself unable to keep a smile off of her face as she watched the flames dance up into the air in beautiful shades of blue and pink. It was sort of pretty and exciting all at the same time…

It died down soon enough and left them in silence. She stared at the remnants of flames flickering just on top of the liquid in the pan before they fizzled out in little puffs of smoke. Only then did she realize she was quite nearly leaning back on him and quickly moved forward again, a tinge of a blush on her cheeks.

"See? That wasn't so bad, yeah?" he asked, grinning. "Kinda fun."

"Yeah, it kinda was," she admitted, laughing to herself as he threw her a double thumbs up and walked back to his own station.

Ichiya then instructed them all to pour in the cream, then add the steaks into the sauce and take it off of the heat. Then also take out their pot of rice which was just about done cooking. Everyone followed the instructions and when the last burner was flicked off Ichiya clapped his hands together twice.

"You all have now officially just made the wonderful parfum of a home cooked meal! You all did a wonderful job, especially with the secret step," he said with a wink. "The flames of hand-prepared passion were beautiful to see! Although some rose much higher than others…" Ichiya looked a little amused as his eyes fell on Natsu. Everyone else in the room stole a glance back at him and Natsu unashamedly bowed multiple times which elicited a few chuckles around the room. "Regardless, it was beautiful to see new cooks, young and old, unearthing their potential!" He threw his arms out wide. "You may all now enjoy each other's food at your leisure!"

The buzz of conversation filled the gym as everyone began spooning out their rice and steak onto plates and chatting with neighbors. Some sampled some of the others' foods and a few stools were pulled around to sit in congregational groups. The woman in front of Lucy and the man in front of Natsu seemed to have taken a liking to one another and cozied up near his station to chat and taste one another's dishes.

Lucy was unsure if she wanted anyone to try what she'd made –she was still positive she messed up somehow- and wondered who she should work to socialize with. However, she didn't have to contemplate long. With two bangs Natsu had brought over his pot of rice and his pan of steaks and placed them next to hers on her counter. He dragged over a stool and unceremoniously plopped himself into it, facing her. "Hey, care if we share?"

Like she could say no to that smile… She handed him a plate and gestured for him to take whatever of hers he wanted. She figured maybe she'd at least taste his… it was surely not going to taste the best out of all the meals cooked but she had to admit she _was_ a tad curious about it after the show he'd put on in making it.

She also made a mental note that apparently cooking a towel in the oven would _not_ indeed start a fire. It was still sitting happily in his pot and looked unscathed.

"Hey, thanks for helping me," she said as they began to spoon food onto their plates. "I think had I not done that flambé thing, or whatever it was called, I would've regretted it."

He nodded, his mouth already full of meat. "No prob," he managed to choke out.

She took a small sample of his rice as she filled her place. Hot _damn_ was that buttery. With a little effort she managed to eat it with a straight face. Honestly though, it wasn't as bad as she'd expected.

"Mmm," he hummed. "This is delicious!" He was scarfing it down like he hadn't had a meal in weeks. She also realized he was exclusively eating what she'd made. He hadn't even touched his own.

Her stomach fluttered with the compliment. "Ah, I'm pretty sure I did a lot of things wrong, though," she laughed. "We were so far behind I'm sure we missed some stuff."

Natsu shrugged, wiping his mouth. "Tastes fine to me." He paused for a minute, meeting her gaze. "Although, if ya wanna try it again sometime, at your place or whatever, I'd be more than happy to sample it." He grinned. "Y'know, if you wanted to make changes to it or whatever."

She stilled, staring at him as he looked back and forth to both of her eyes before busying himself with eating again.

Had he just… asked her out? He was very odd with the way he went about almost everything, so was that his way of asking her out on a date? Or rather _in_ on a date, since she'd be cooking? Or was she reading too much into it..?

He peeked up at her out of the corner of his eye as if waiting for an answer and she got the distinct impression that she wasn't reading too much into it. "A-A-Ah, yeah," she stuttered, her face feeling rather hot. "I guess I'd like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Natsu and Lucy taking a cooking class together as strangers has always weirdly enough been something I wanted to write. So here it is, haha! XD Hopefully you got at least a little chuckle out of this. Sorry for how long it was; this one was the longest yet!  
> I hope you enjoyed! :D


	25. Full Speed Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's too tired to walk, Happy's trying his best, and Natsu still has the same inhuman endurance he always does. Though now he has a power-up. "Lucy-boost... go!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a silly and random little thing. I hope you enjoy! :D

Natsu Dragneel was exhausting. It was a rather simple and well-known fact, and yet something that he himself was apparently oblivious to.

Everyone had told her at least once that they didn't know how she did it. How she went on job after job with him, spent nearly 24/7 with him, and _still_ had the energy to get out of bed every morning. And yeah, sometimes Lucy herself wondered how she did it, too.

He was exhausting mentally, emotionally, physically… just everything about him was so exhausting. Not that she didn't love him and love spending time with him, because she did, it just wore her thin sometimes. But of course he'd come back with that signature grin of his and a chuckle that made her skin tingle and it all seemed to be worth it.

Sometimes when people would tell her she was a saint to be able to keep up with him, she was a bit grateful to hear it. A bit grateful to know that it wasn't just in her own imagination that he was so exhausting and grateful that she was getting some kind of credit for dealing with him for this long. And sometimes when they'd say that, they'd also ask her point blank how she did it, and actually expect an answer.

Of course, the answer of how to keep up with Natsu Dragneel was really not something that could be put into words. Instead she'd just laugh it off, waving her hand and saying that he was her partner so she was just used to him. And that was true, but it didn't make him any less tiring.

When it came to him being both mentally and emotionally exhausting, she supposed it wasn't that bad. He wasn't exactly the brightest bulb on the tree –although that didn't make her love him any less- so keeping up with his thinking wasn't really very difficult. In fact, she figured maybe she exhausted _him_ mentally more than he exhausted her. However, because of his foolhardy and often flawed reasoning… he did sometimes make her brain hurt.

How his thoughts got from point a to point b sometimes went way over her head. She could be talking with him and Happy about the best tactic to use on a job and he'd blurt out his own solution, something so off-the-wall that she would just stare at him for a moment, wondering what the hell kind of pit stop his train of thought must've taken during their conversation.

Of course these "pit stops", also known as his crazy ideas, typically involved some sort of destruction. In his mind the harder they hit the job, the quicker it'd be done. He'd tried for a while to tone down the damages, but ultimately it just wasn't really within reason to ask Natsu to go on a job and not come back with a bill for at _least_ three buildings to repair.

And so yes, even though his reasoning was incredibly hard to keep up with, over time she did find it easier to follow where he was going with a thought, and predict what he was going to do. So as far as the mental exhaustion went, she'd learned how to handle it.

As far as the emotional exhaustion he caused went, she guessed it was really all of her own doing. If it weren't for those stupid feelings she had for him, the emotional drain wouldn't even be on the table. But unfortunately she had, indeed, fallen for her best friend and so with every one of his smiles and touches and little hints –that she was sure were _not_ hints in his book- that they might be something more, it hammered away at her hopes and made her question their relationship and made her stay up late at night staring at the ceiling and just _ugh_. She was tired even just thinking about it.

So yes, the emotional drain was her own doing… but it was still tiring.

All in all, she felt as if she handled those two rather well. No one else in the guild could guess what he was thinking on a job like she could. And no one else in the guild was nearly as close as she was to him. So she handled it well, in her book.

But it was the third aspect of his exhaustion that really took its toll: physicality.

Dear sweet Mavis it was as if someone had force-fed caffeine to a squirrel and then stuffed that squirrel inside of him. He was hyper beyond belief, bouncing off the walls and always ready for either a fight or an adventure no matter how long he'd gone without sleeping or how bruised and battered he was from his past escapade.

In the guild she had some help in dealing with his outgoing nature, but out on jobs, especially ones where it was just the two of them, she was all on her own. And it was sometimes miserable.

She considered herself to be in pretty decent shape, physically. She did her daily cardio, kept her muscles stretched and ready to go, and her magical capacity was definitely much higher than it had been even a few months ago. She could keep up with most anyone… aside from him.

She'd tried adding more to her daily workouts, eating healthier, getting more sleep, but nothing she did was enough to allow her body to keep up with him entirely on jobs.

Just when she was absolutely certain that he couldn't have any more left in the tank, he'd steel his features and pump a fist into the air and yell that they were on the home stretch. Just when they'd had to have run a few miles after their target he'd let out a battle cry, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her after him in a determined last sprint. Just when every muscle in her body was screaming at her and her lungs felt like they were on fire… he'd always somehow pull more energy out of thin air and she'd be forced to wheeze and stagger her way after him, trying her best to keep up.

And damn… that was just plain exhausting.

Levy had suggested to her to just tell him sometimes that she needed to take a break, but her pride had kept her from saying anything. She felt a little ashamed that she would be holding him back. That _she_ would be the reason they had to stop and wait a moment before continuing when he could've just gone on immediately. Of course, in all reality she was in tip top physical shape, he was just a beast. But still… she felt bad if she was the reason they had to stop.

However, _this_ time she was positive she was going to have to say something.

They'd gone on a rather routine job to catch a thief who was stealing from a little cluster of shops a few towns over. Apparently he'd hit one shop one night, then the next he'd move on to another, and so on and so forth. So the shop owners had commissioned them to come over and do a stake out for the thief to catch him. Simple enough; Lucy could remember at least four jobs she'd been on that were similar.

However, what _wasn't_ similar was that this thief had magic akin to Jet's. Aka… he was one fast little sucker. So no, they didn't catch him right away. But instead of retreating back and waiting to see if he came the next night, Natsu had decided that he'd just literally chase this guy down on the spot. He said it was a waste to see if he'd come back when they had found him already.

Again, his thinking was flawed, but it was what Lucy had come to expect.

And so they'd taken off after the culprit. That was nearly a day ago. Now here they were, on the road running after just a speck in the distance. This guy obviously didn't have unlimited magical power so he'd slow down significantly from time-to-time, during which they'd catch up. But as soon as they had, he'd activate his magic and _whoosh_ he'd be just a speck in the distance again.

Lucy was _positive_ they'd run at least fifty miles, and she was exhausted. Of course, they hadn't run the entire time, opting to walk for a while here and there. Even so, her legs were on fire and she was positive she was going to pass out if he kept this up for much longer. Natsu, on the other hand, didn't even look winded.

She'd tried to reason with him. Most of the time they couldn't even see the perp any longer. They didn't even know for sure they were following him in the right direction; they'd just been lucky until now to keep catching up to him when he probably thought he'd lost them. _God_ , this was just insane.

They hadn't eaten, they were nearly out of water, and dammit the sun was about to go down and sleep sounded amazing. She just wanted it all to be over with. At this point she swore she would call out to the guy to just keep what he'd stolen but not go back to the town the next time he was within earshot and then call it a day.

But that of course wasn't Natsu's way. Her pride battled with her sore and tired feet. Should she tell him she needed to stop? Should she admit in a way that no, she couldn't keep up with him? Hell, should she admit in a way that no, she couldn't even keep up with his _cat_? After all, Happy was still somehow floating along beside them, looking winded but still ready to go.

Her heart hurt a little at the thought. What would he think? He'd be disappointed in her. Maybe he'd realize that she wasn't the one best suited for these types of missions and he'd opt to go with someone else the next time. While that was probably a decent and logical idea, the thought made her throat feel tight. She didn't want to be a burden to him. She didn't want to hold him back and she didn't want to see that look of frustration in his eyes when they had to stop because of _her_ even if _he_ could keep going.

But this was ridiculous. Her knee buckled and she caught herself, finally deciding she'd have to swallow her pride once and for all.

"Hey, Natsu," she said, trying to sound a bit nonchalant. "Maybe we should stop for a bit. Y'know, drink something, maybe brainstorm a better plan?"

Natsu raised his eyebrows and looked over at her. They were walking now, having just sprinted for what felt like an eternity after spotting the guy in the distance. She had no idea where they were. It was hilly and dusty and there weren't many houses or buildings around anymore.

"We can drink while we walk," he said, fishing a water bottle out of his pack. "And we can talk too." He smiled, seemingly proud of his logic and time-saving proposition.

_Uuuugh_. "Y'know we might actually be able to run faster if we did take a break… y'know, rest our legs for a bit."

"But then we'll definitely lose him," Natsu said. "I mean, you're probably right but c'mon, he was just _right there_." He sounded hopeful.

"We don't even know for sure where he went."

"We've caught up to him each time, though. I think we're destined to catch 'im!"

"We're lost, Natsu."

"We'll find our way back once we get him. Besides, he probably knows this area…"

"The sun's going down…"

"Then we'll have an advantage! I can see pretty darn well in the dark, and we can go by his scent then, too!"

_"Dammit Natsu!"_ she sighed, frustrated. She bent over, hands on her knees and her chest heaving. He stopped too, looking surprised. She felt a bead of sweat roll down her temple. "This is ridiculous!" She looked up at him and found his eyes wide and full of confusion. "We've been out here for almost twelve hours, nonstop. This _has_ to be one of the hottest days this month, the guy's nowhere friggin' near the town we promised to protect, and yet we're _still_ going after him." She wiped a hand across her forehead. "The people didn't even want him caught for prosecution, they just wanted him caught so they could find a way to get rid of him. We've gotten rid of him. We've done our job. Lord knows why they were so kindhearted as to not want him to pay for what he's done, but let's take advantage of that kindheartedness and just go home. You do realize how ridiculous this is, right?"

Natsu blinked at her. Happy seemed to agree to some extent, staying quiet and looking at her with the sympathy that could only result from feeling some of the same exhaustion she was. "But he's a bad guy," Natsu said. "Maybe they don't want him to pay but I do."

It was noble, and Lucy did to some extent feel the same way… but still. All this walking and running… "I get it, Natsu, I do, and I want him caught too but _God_ can't we at least take a break?" She pinched the bridge of her nose.

There was a beat of silence. "Oh," Natsu said. "Are… are _you_ tired?"

She bit her lip, her chest feeling rather tight as he unknowingly threw a punch right at her pride. But she wasn't going to lie. She met his gaze with what she knew were worn and exhausted eyes. "Yes. I'm sorry Natsu, but yes I'm tired. I don't know how you do it. I don't know where you get the energy from. I can't keep up with you, so yes, _I_ need a break." There, she'd admitted it. It felt awful to say out loud and she fully expected him to go on without her. She wouldn't have blamed him…

He cocked his head. "Is that the only problem?"

She blinked. "Eh?"

"So if ya weren't tired you'd still go after this dude with me?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. What kind of question was that? "Yes, I would… but-"

"Well that ain't a problem, then!" he piped, looking proud. "Why didn'tcha say so sooner?" Before she could question him he'd bent his knees, squatting down like he was getting ready to jump. And then he just stayed there…

There was a few long and drawn-out seconds where Lucy stared at him, uncomprehending, he stared at the ground as if waiting for something, and Happy floated quietly, looking back and forth to both of them as if they'd lost their marbles.

Natsu glanced up at her questioningly. "Well?"

"Well what?" she peeped.

"You gonna get on, or what?" He nodded towards his back.

Her eyes bugged. "For a piggyback ride?" she squeaked.

"Yeah, o'course. Why else would I be standing like this?" he scoffed, shaking his head and chuckling to himself as if _she_ was the crazy one.

"No, no, no, I can't do that-"

"Why not?"

"I-Just…. It's not… you can't… c'mon you're not actually gonna _run_ with me on your back. Natsu you're pretty superhuman but running after all this time, with the added weight of another person… you're crazy."

Natsu raised one eyebrow as if taking a challenge. "Oh? You doubt me?"

"No I don't doubt you-"

"Y'know that really bakes my beans, Luce," he said, mock offense in his voice. He smiled at her, nodding to his back again. "C'mon, if you doubt me, I'll show you what Natsu Dragneel's really made of!" There was that fighting spirit again. He was inhuman…

She had the distinct impression that it would take longer and be more exhausting if she went against what he said, rather than to just humor him and hope that A- he didn't hurt himself, and B- she could handle the embarrassment riding on his back for however long he could handle it.

With her face aflame she somehow managed to hop onto his back. He heaved her up to sit higher on his back and adjusted his grip on her legs. "Alrighty then," he said, sounding determined. "I gotta show ya exactly what I can do!" He looked back at her. "Besides, now I got a 'Lucy power' power-up. I can't lose!"

She was a little worried what a 'Lucy power-up' was, but before she could ask he was already readying himself to take off. "You ready Happy?" he asked.

"Aye, sir!" Happy responded, a little less enthusiastically than usual. Poor thing was tired too… Lucy felt sort of bad.

"Alrighty then… Lucy boost… go!"

_"Kyaa!"_ And with that he pushed off, hurtling forward like a speeding bullet after their perp, leaving a trail of dust and any of Lucy's doubts in him, far behind.


End file.
